Heart of a Hero
by DisGRACEtothehumanRACE
Summary: After the death of his father, Hiccup let his anger and grief swallow him. Finding an outlet for his anger in fighting thugs in the street behind a mask-along with the occasional snarky white-haired sprite-Hiccup was almost content until a foe threatens his home and forces him to change his mask from a simple street ego to a symbol of hope and protection for his city. SuperheroAU
1. His First Fight

He didn't know when exactly he had decided to fight, but he would always remember how it felt the first time he did.

He felt small when facing the thug before him, but big enough to stand up. He felt weak when he was struck, but strong enough to resume his fight. He felt afraid, but brave-and angry-enough to begin.

Anger made him feel stronger than bravery could, as a matter of fact. Sometimes that scared him, other times he just channeled it and let it simmer. He could be explosive in tight situations, but he was alright with that most days. It just meant he had nothing left to lose. He didn't, after all. Not since his father was murdered. That was when he first began to fight.

His father had been all he had-except for Toothless, of course-and when he lost him in such a terrible way with no one to turn to he had… well, _changed._

The anger had only grown in the past few months. He didn't realise how buried in it he was until he was in too deep to try to escape it. One evening when he had little else to do but pace in his restless way, he picked up his phone and without any real reason, looked at his messages. There were several he received at semi-regular intervals, the most recent being a week ago that had gone unanswered from Gobber, his old mentor, regarding his well-being, and beyond that many from his friends from school and around town. The messages themselves were nothing unsurprising: friends wondering if he was okay, how he was holding up, if he needed any help and whether he wanted to catch up. They eventually stopped, supposedly when everyone finally realised that he didn't want to "catch up," nor did he want their "help." What did surprise him, however, was that the last message he had received from any one of them was from six weeks prior, and it dawned on him how long he had shut everyone out.

He avoided going into town as much as possible for the first month after his father's funeral. He hadn't even considered going to the store until he got his latest electricity bill in the mail and figured his pointless opening and closing the door of his empty refrigerator was costing him more money than buying a year's worth of food would. That also made him realise that he needed to make some money if he wanted to resume living in the house he grew up in. The money his father left him would only get him so far, he reasoned when he put fifty of his one hundred-ten acres up for sale and returned to work at his old shop the following week.

Gobber had smiled warmly at him and clapped a hand to his shoulder when he walked into the odd shop, looking like he wanted to ask how he had been doing, but he must have seen something when he looked at Hiccup that made him think better of it. Retreating to his workroom with a grateful smile, Hiccup noticed the thin sheet of dust that covered the surface and brushed a small portion away, reaching to the shelf on the wall for the sketchbook designated to his leatherwork.

Thumbing through the pages, his eyes came to rest on a page he had dedicated to designing a simple new steering wheel cover for his father's work car. He remembered his father complaining of the smell of his old one, and how the edges were annoyingly fringed from how often he wrung them in his steely grip when he was stressed out. Hiccup had promised he would make him a new one later that week when the new leather he had ordered had come in, but his father had died the day before the leather had arrived, found in the old milk box at the foot of the security gate, innocent to how Hiccup had nearly fallen to his knees when he realised what it was. Eyes suddenly blurry and burning, Hiccup ripped the page out of the sketchbook and crushed it in his fist, throwing it at the wastebin across the room and scowling when it bounced off the rim.

Flipping to a new page he reached for a 2B pencil and stared at the blank page before him, the realization that he hadn't sketched anything since he had last been at the shop dawning on him. He had been caught in a creative block for over six weeks and he hadn't even known it. Reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone he slipped on his earbuds, turning on an auto playlist to assist his focus as he began mindlessly sketching, trying to find a workable idea in his doodles.

Hiccup spent a good half hour drawing, erasing and huffing into the single sketchbook page until the pleasant white it had been when he began had transformed into an uneven shade of gray, smudged from the graphite smears and ripped in a few places from too much pressure. Sighing heavily he lifted the book and closed it in one hand, rubbing his eyelids hard with the other.

The front desk was stationed to the left outside his workroom, typically making it easier to hear the whoosh of the shop door when it opened. Gobber had complained about not being able to hear the door from the back of the shop or in the breakroom, and Hiccup had suggested a doorbell system, but he never had had time to make one, his typical work day was either full of projects of his own or commissions from his customers, so they had settled with an annoying service bell that seemed only loud enough for dogs and Hiccup to hear, even though Gobber's main workshop was right across the hall from his own. Upon removing his earbuds, Hiccup's ears were deprived of the folksy twang of Mumford and Sons and assaulted with one continuous ringing of the bell. He tossed his sketchbook back on his desk as he stood and exited his workroom, an incredulous look marring his face.

Slumping against the tall oak desk stood his cousin, his meaty hand attacking the little brass bell on the counter, making it sound like it was screaming for mercy. Hiccup crossed the room quickly and closed a fist around the bell, silencing it and scowling when his hand was slapped continuously as if the bell was still ringing. The dark-haired man hadn't even seemed to have noticed that the object of his entertainment had been compromised.

" _Snotlout_ ," Hiccup scolded, his nose wrinkling in frustration when he discovered the overpowering stench of alcohol on the man's breath.

"Cuz!" he shouted, so loud Hiccup cringed and shushed him. Snotlout then giggled, sounding much like an eight year old before lifting his finger to his lips and mockingly shushing Hiccup back.

"Snotlout, it's one-thirty in the afternoon, how much have you had to drink?" Hiccup couldn't help but be surprised, his cousin did enjoy his drink, but he didn't get drunk too often for a twenty year-old, not to mention Hiccup had never seen him drink during the day outside of the occasional party, family or otherwise.

"Much," he said simply, dragging out the 'M' while he shifted his weight clumsily from foot to foot.

Hiccup sighed exasperatedly before turning to the back of the shop and yelling, "Gobber, I've gotta step out for a few minutes," thinking it wise to refrain from disclosing too much information, he turned back to Snotlout, "c'mon, I'll take you home. Just be quiet."

"Shh!" Snotlout whispered and again put his finger to his lips. Hiccup jogged back into his workroom to retrieve his keys and hurried back out to the lobby, where Snotlout was already stumbling to the door. Grabbing his arm, Hiccup ushered his cousin around the side of the building into the alleyway leading to the back lot. Thankful that only four cars ever parked in the squared off back lot, he knew no one would spot them leaving. The only ways in were from the alley between Gobber's shop and the building next door-that Hiccup had yet to go inside-and the short two-lane stretch leading to the street. He had never even seen the back doors to the shops surrounding the lot open, nor had he ever seen anyone on a smoke break, it was always empty whenever he passed through it, and he had never been more thankful for it than he was now, hauling his drunk cousin stumbling and giggling behind him.

Rounding the corner of the alley way, he snuck a glance at the back door to Gobber's shop, ensuring his mentor hadn't stepped out to retrieve something from his car or anything before beginning to cross the lot. They were almost halfway across when Hiccup glanced to the only egress point and saw the black car stretched across both lanes, and the three men clustered outside it, one swinging a pair of keys around a finger.

"Hey!" Snotlout suddenly burst out, startling Hiccup and attracting the attention of the men across the lot, "those are MY keys!"

" _Snotlout_ , leave them alone!" Hiccup scolded in a hushed voice and tugged him along. He just assumed his cousin was acting paranoid that somebody had stolen his keys in his drunk state before he heard the snarky voice.

"Well, well, if it isn't snotty Scotty! You lookin' to win back your car? Double or nothing!" the voice dared. Hiccup came to an abrupt halt and whipped his head back to Snotlout for an explanation.

"You've been gambling?" he scoffed in disbelief when the dark-haired man shrugged, "I can't _believe_ you!"

"Gimme back my keys!" Snotlout demanded and lurched forward, knocking into Hiccup's side and knocking them both off balance. Hiccup did his best to restrain him, but even drunk his cousin was much stronger than him.

"Whoa, looks like somebody's feeling feisty!" one of the men laughed, all three of them advancing.

"We don't want any trouble," Hiccup called to them, still trying to pull his cousin along. His car was _so_ close, he thought, hoping he didn't look as desperate as he felt.

The man grasping the keys held them up and shook them tauntingly, a smug smile on his lips, "You might not be, be he sure is," he responded, "he got kicked out of the bar after he lost to us because he was throwing shot glasses. Got Mason here right in the head."

'Mason' turned his head and gestured to an ugly swollen gash on his temple which had evidently been disinfected already, for it was clean of blood and adorned three butterfly bandages. Hiccup winced at the sight and tightened his grip on Snotlout's forearm. He had the suspicion that they weren't getting out of here before the men had avenged their friend's forehead, and the odds certainly weren't in their favor. They were outnumbered, not to mention one of their number was in a heavily altered state and the other weighed barely 120 pounds and had never gotten into an actually fight outside the playground-if those beat-downs could even be considered fights.

 _There's no was we'll win this fight,_ Hiccup thought, feeling ten times smaller than he was.

Mason advanced and grabbed a fistful of Snotlout's shirt, tugging the unsteady man forward, "How about I give you a cut to match?" he threatened.

Hiccup, losing his grip on his cousin's arm, attempted to get between the two, still trying to calm them all and was shoved away with brute force by the man that still held Snotlout's keys. He slammed onto the ground, wincing when heard his own teeth clack together. Positioning to push off his elbows, he hadn't gotten off the ground before a boot came crashing down on his ribcage with the force of a warhammer, forcing the air out of his lungs and slamming his head against the asphalt. He gasped harshly at the pain shooting through his skull. He rolled over slowly, grasping his head as his vision swam. When it finally steadied he took a deep breath and lifted off his feet again, stumbling a bit before he whirled around and launched himself at the man who had shoved him, forming a fist and drawing back, feeling his hand painfully make contact with the man's sharp cheekbone. He continued to rush past after the blow had been struck, and when he clumsily came to a stop, he found a sick sort of satisfaction in the sharp sting the clamped down on his knuckles.

The third member of the offending party grabbed Hiccup by the back of his shirt, swinging him back around to face the man he had hit, "Hold him there, Coop!" he snarled, teeth red from the new bloody nose he sported, "that punch wasn't bad, for a _beginner_ , but I know how to throw a _real_ punch."

Hiccup seized up as the man drew back his fist, noticing clear calluses evident on his knuckles from a dozen past fights. Hiccup was about to scar them up a little more.

Hiccup doubled over as a blow was laid into his stomach, sputtering he tried to gulp in the air that was stolen from him. Three hits, one after another were laid to his face and he felt Coop struggle with his weight as his legs gave out. His gasps resembled that of an air-starved swimmer as he desperately attempted to regain his balance. Pain seared across his cheek at the next hit, and Hiccup swore he heard the blood splatter on the pavement, although where it came from he couldn't tell. He coughed dryly, his throat sore from his agonal breaths. A hand fisted in his hair yanked his head up to meet eyes of the man assaulting him.

"Had enough yet?" blind with stubborn fury, Hiccup spat at him. To his credit, the man didn't even flinch. Instead he smirked with a sick kind of joy, "No? Alright then," a kick to the side accompanied the onslaught of fists to his head and torso. This time, when his feet gave out Coop simply let him fall.

"Now stay down," the man commanded, but Hiccup was always too stubborn to take orders, even when his blood was splattered like paint on the asphalt. Somehow Hiccup was able to stumble to a standing position, although his stance wavered dangerously. The man tsked at him like a disapproving teacher.

"Take him down, Cain," called a voice to the side. Hiccup had completely forgotten about Mason, who currently was making good on his promise to give Snotlout a cut to match his own. From where he stood, he wasn't sure he could recognize his cousin's face through the thin sheet of blood that covered half of it.

"Let's wrap this up, fellas, I'm sure Haddock here has to get back to work," Cain sneered, Snotlout's keys reappearing in his bloodied hand and he stepped forward to fish Hiccup's phone out of his pocket-thankfully he had left his wallet in his car that morning before he went into the shop. Hiccup blanched when Cain used his name. These men knew them both, knew where Hiccup worked and knew that Snotlout would come to him. They had been purposely waiting for them so they could have some more fun. Upon seeing Hiccup's bewildered and outraged expression, Cain cocked his head innocently, "Aw, what's wrong Haddock? You must not watch the news much if you really think we don't know who you are. Sorry to hear about Daddy, by the way."

That retort was what made Hiccup snap. Besides his target, he saw nothing but red as he surged forward. Cain didn't have time to avoid the hit that sent him stumbling to the side. Hiccup anticipated Coop's strike and ducked below the swing, using the leverage to power an uppercut, feeling a strong crunch when it made contact. Coop was knocked completely back, giving Hiccup enough time to stagger back to Cain's side as he began to gain his feet, bringing his fist down to meet his face as it turned to look at him. He wasted no time giving him two swift kicks to the side following for good measure.

Desperately trying to catch his breath, he hobbled to where Mason obliviously continued his assault on Snotlout. With him distracted, it was easy to knock him off his cousin with a kick that was aimed at his ribcage, but instead hit his gut. It proved to be just as effective, luckily, as the air was knocked out of him with a loud, "oof!"

Hiccup began to advance when Mason leapt up, coughing. Noticing the bloody states his friends were in he immediately backed up, holding his hands up in surrender. Hiccup watched him cautiously as he retreated to where Coop was trying to lift Cain from the ground. Seeing them knocked down a peg filled Hiccup with a sense of pride he knew he shouldn't have. He had just heavily beaten three men and _enjoyed_ it. He had little time to reflect, however, and moved back to heave Snotlout up.

Both men staggered back to the car on drunken feet, and Hiccup realised as he looked at the keys he clutched in his hands that he hadn't quite finished with the men yet. Getting into the car and backing it out of his parking spot, he rolled down the window, "I'll need my cousins keys and my phone back," he demanded, his voice raw but surprisingly strong as he began to pull forward. He waited for a moment as they stared blankly at him before sighing and putting the car in park before he reached into the back seat and grabbed his metal ice scraper. He had only set on foot outside the car before both items were tossed at him, the keys hitting his shoulder and bouncing off while he fumbled with his aching hands to catch the phone. Retrieving the keys from the ground he mock saluted them, getting back in the car and pulling out of the lot, narrowly avoiding their car still stretched out across both lanes of the egress of the lot.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Hiccup was impressed with his ability to drive competently in the beaten state he was in as he drove Snotlout home. He still had to help him inside and clean off his face, if his father saw his face covered in blood like this there would be seven different kinds of hell to pay for both of them. Hiccup them searched through the refrigerator for ice packs or peas, instead settling for a bag of assorted frozen vegetables, although Snotlout continued to whine, "they're supposed to be PEAS," Hiccup would have none of it, and would either flick Snotlout's swollen nose or tell him to "SHUT UP, asshole!" every time he began to complain. He swiped two bottles of water from the fridge and leaving one and Snotlout's bedside table next to his keys, before leaving shortly after shoving Snotlout into his bed.

He was a quarter mile away from his house when the fatigue finally hit him. Forgetting completely about going back to work, he collapsed on the couch as soon as he got home. Unsure of what time it was when he had arrived, he had no clue how long he had been out when he reawoke. The sun was beginning to set and Toothless was scratching at the screen door, howling to be let back inside. His head swimming, Hiccup stumbled to the door and let his friend inside, ignoring the pointed look the furry animal was giving him as he stumbled up the stairs to shower.

He stayed in the shower long after the hot water had run out, only stepping out when he became too tired to continue to shiver. He had almost finished toweling off when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, his reflection startling him.

The skin of his torso and stomach had already begun to bloom blue and purple. An uneven gash opened up the skin between his eyes, the blood thankfully already beginning to clot. The thin cut lining his cheekbone, however, was starting to weep with blood again and he gathered a fistful of toilet paper to press against it. His face had a similar His eye was just beginning to swell, and he would have to ice it more to prevent swelling. Tomorrow would be significantly worse than it had to be if his face was painted black and blue. None of his customers would like that, he had no doubt, and Gobber would certainly like it even less.

Before that afternoon, Hiccup had never been in an actual fight outside the few times he had tried to hit his playground bullies back. Those fights hadn't ended well for him, either. Something was different about this fight, however. He had beaten three grown men and he had _liked_ how it felt. That genuinely scared him. The power his anger had given him was addictive, and that scared him even more.

Moving back downstairs he retreated back to the couch and turned on the news although he knew he wouldn't really watch it. His phone blinked at his from the seat next to him and he turned on the screen, guilt gnawing the pit of his stomach when he noticed that he had three new calls and two voicemails from Gobber.

He had just begun to listen to the first voicemail when the headlights of a car pulling into his driveway reflected across the walls of the room. Hiccup paled, knowing it could only be Gobber. He jumped to a stand way faster than he should have, a headrush hitting him like a brick and his knee buckled, causing him to slam into the coffee table. He didn't want Gobber to see him like this, but there wasn't much he could do to keep him out. Gobber had a spare key so he couldn't just lock him out and pretend to be asleep, and even if he somehow convinced Gobber to leave it would take him days or weeks to heal up completely-Hiccup had no idea how long it would take him to heal from a beating this bad, to be truthful-so his mentor would find out eventually, and the longer he kept it a secret the more upset Gobber would be.

Hiccup lowered himself back down to the couch and braced himself as Gobber tested the lock and, finding it open, entered the house. He winced at Gobber's silence upon seeing his marred face. Saying nothing was almost worse than him yelling.

"What happened to ya, laddie?" he asked, still standing in the open doorway. Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his hair. His scalp still ached from his hair being pulled.

"Don't let him out," Hiccup called when Toothless scurried forward to escape between Gobber's legs. He gently pushed him back with his boot and turned to close the door. Instead of joining him on the couch like Hiccup expected, he moved into the kitchen. Hiccup could hear the quiet roar of the freezer as Gobber rummaged around for a moment before entering the living room and handing Hiccup a bag of frozen peas.

"Now tell me what happened, Hiccup."

Maybe Hiccup had had people to turn to after his father's death but had refused to accept any help. Maybe be had just preferred to be alone and angry. Maybe his pain and anger was self-inflicted and certainly destructive, but he was still hurting. He didn't care if his own actions were hurting him more than he cared to think about.


	2. Punching Bags, Pity and Ice

**Auth note: Holy cow, you guys! I was super surprised by how fast this gained popularity! Thanks so much for all the follows and faves and reviews, it without a doubt makes writing these chapters worth it!**

Chapter Two

While Gobber certainly wasn't happy about what happened, he didn't respond as terribly as Hiccup had expected. There was plenty of scolding, but it was nothing like the shout-fest his father would have thrown in his honor. And while Gobber hadn't outright said he was disappointed, he hadn't really had to; Hiccup had already known he would be.

The next day, after Hiccup had finally set up an automated bell system so the door could be heard from anywhere in the shop (he felt it was the least he could do for his mentor, after he had gone easy him after the fight, which Hiccup knew was less than he deserved,) Gobber called him into the garage at the very back of the shop. The whole place was just as much a mess as always, with a table overflowing with tools sitting next to every car parked in the place to get fixed. Of all the work the two did then auto shop customers were always the least satisfied-and who could blame them? On average it would take them three days to replace an engine if the motor replacement was on hand, which it rarely was.

The clutter hadn't changed much at all, Hiccup realized as he walked into the garage, save the fact that Gobber must have finally finished working on the old Jeep that had been there an embarrassing three weeks that had needed the air filter changed-but in their defence, who sells carburetors in a fifty mile radius anymore? The space the car had been stationed had been cleared away and replaced with a bright red punching bag hanging from a chain hooked to the ceiling. Standing beside it stood Gobber, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he admired the bag-clearly his handy work.

"Wha-what is this?" Hiccup asked as he approached, dumbfounded.

"Obviously I don't approve of what happened yesterday, but you can't help but notice you've not grown much more than skin and bones over the past few years. This is about the only way I can think to help you out out there," he responded, already turning to the 2001 Corolla that had been waiting to be fixed almost as long as the Jeep.

"Gobber, that was a one-time thing. I-it won't happen again," Hiccup argued, hearing himself stammer.

"Lad, I know what you're feeling. You're angry and hurt. We _all_ are. Your father was a great man and his loss hurt lots 'o people. I'm glad that you finally stepped out 'o the house and I hoped that coming back to work meant you were coping. I was wrong about tha', and while I can't stop you from going back out there, but with this I can help protect you," Gobber was still engrossed in his work on the little car, and to someone who didn't know the inside of a compact car like Hiccup did, it would look like he was checking the oil. Hiccup, however, knew Gobber just didn't want to look him in the swollen eye.

Although Hiccup was offended by how quickly Gobber had assumed he wanted to spend his days fighting rowdy gamblers in the streets, he couldn't help but feel guilty again. Gobber only wanted to help him, and he knew better than anyone that once Hiccup set his mind to something nothing would stop him. Even so, he was wrong.

"I appreciate the thought, Gobber, but… I'm not going to fight anymore. I only did it because those guys robbed Snotlout and had made it clear that they weren't going to stop unless they _were_ stopped. Yesterday was a mistake, my face is proof of that, and I'm not looking to prove it any further."

Gobber set down the oil wand on the car's engine and Hiccup winced when it slipped off and fell into the compartment with a clang, "You're father dedicated his whole life to making the streets safer for twenty-five years, Hiccup. He died doing what he loved and I know you just want to make him proud. You told me how you felt taking down those men; even though you want to, you're not going to stop now."

Now it was Hiccup's turn to avoid eye contact. His mentor had no idea what he was talking about. He hadn't been thinking about his father during the fight until Cain had mocked him. He hadn't been thinking about putting away criminals, either. He had only wanted to protect himself and his stupid cousin. It _had_ felt righteous what was coming to them, but Hiccup wasn't some addict who needed to fight in order to function, he was just… Hiccup.

"You're wrong," he said flatly and turned to head back into his workshop.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

It wasn't until that afternoon that Hiccup was able to get his head cleared enough to actually get some work done. He was so immersed in soldering together two thin metal pipes for a commission he was working on he barely acknowledged the automated bell's tone, much less the voices talking outside his workroom at the front desk or the sound of feet stopping outside his door. He didn't even notice the young woman that leaned against the door frame behind him until she loudly cleared her throat. Startled, he hissed an aggravated sigh and removed the handheld torch from its focus point on the steel, shutting it off before turning with a scowl overwhelming his features before faltering when he realized who stood before him.

He hadn't seen her since the funeral.

Before that, he hadn't seen her in a year and a half.

And good gods, if she hadn't grown to be three times more beautiful than the last time he had seen her.

Astrid, _the_ Astrid Hofferson leaned against the doorway of _his_ workroom. His throat dried out in record time and he suddenly became very aware of the state his face was in. They had been best friends during their childhood, and although they had grown apart in their teenage years Stoick had practically considered Astrid a daughter to him, so when she had approached him at the funeral and taken his hand, he had expected more than a look of sympathy from her. He had had his fill of looks of sympathy thirteen years earlier when they buried an empty casket for his mother. Now they laid his father down next to her and his old best friend didn't know how to comfort him. Her silence was better than the words of pity he received from everyone else, though. When she had taken his hand he had expected his old butterflies to awaken from the coma they had lapsed into when she had stopped saying hello to him in the halls at school. Instead they had remained numb and he respectfully pulled away from her touch, thinking her spell over him had finally worn off and he could move on. Seeing her standing in front of him for the first time since then, however, made him feel just as nervous as it did years ago when they were still attached at the hip. Although two years had passed, he felt as strongly for her as ever… and it made him so unbelievably frustrated. No moving on was in his future, apparently.

"Can I help you?" Hiccup asked, stubbornly refusing to let on that he had once thought about her more than he cared to admit. Just because he was crazy about her again didn't mean she had to know about it.

"Hiccup," she began, her voice so soft and fond it momentarily took him by surprise, "Gobber really wasn't kidding; you look terrible."

Hiccup could feel his face flush, hoping she couldn't tell through the purple bruises that spread across his cheeks. His hand flew up to scratch the back of his neck, "Uh, y-yeah," he stammered and cleared his throat, "what are you doing back in town? Aren't you still at Pennsylvania state?"

"Yeah, but it's May," she responded with a smile, "I'm out for the summer 'till the end of August."

"But you didn't come home for the summer last year," he uselessly pointed out, still fumbling to grasp why she was talking to _him_ after nearly two years. If she was home for the summer then that was her business. That didn't concern him. She could just visit her other old friends-the ones she had actually _talked_ to in two years. But instead, she had come to visit _him_ , which didn't make any sense to Hiccup. The way she talked to him-softly and with a smile-combined with how she stood against his doorway-a little _too_ relaxed-told him she had a reason for coming to him. He just wished she would get to it, already so his insides could stop fighting between feeling elated and angry by her presence.

He thought he saw her squint at him, but if she had she covered it up with a smile too fast for him to be sure, "I stayed in summer school to get ahead, but I wanted to come home this year," she said simply, her tone telling him the subject was closed.

"Right," he cleared his throat again, "So what exactly are you doing _here_?" he tried very hard to make his words sound calm and casual but instead they simply tumbled out and spilled onto the floor.

The smile slipped subtly as she replied, "I'm looking for a job nearby and I wanted to stop and say 'hi' to you and Gobber,"

"Oh," Hiccup tried not to be suspicious. Astrid had known Gobber almost as long as Hiccup had and he knew Gobber liked her company and vice versa. Nothing strange in her visiting, "How long have you been back in town?

"I flew in Sunday night," Hiccup was definitely confused now. He turned around to check the calendar on the wall to make sure he wasn't going crazy; today was Tuesday.

"So you've been back one whole day and you're already job hunting?" Hiccup eyed her warily from where he stood.

Astrid, to her credit, didn't miss a beat, "Of course. All the good summer jobs fill up way too fast once the high schoolers are let out for break; I've gotta get a good one before they're gone."

Hiccup had had enough of whatever game she was trying to play, "Good luck to you, then. Thanks for stopping by, it's been great seeing you, but I've gotta get back to work," he said dismissively, not caring how brusque he sounded as he turned back around and picked up his torch.

"I also wanted to ask you if you wanna get lunch or something with me. You know, so we can catch up."

Hiccup repressed a sigh. So _that's_ why she stopped by. He wasn't sure why he didn't guess it. She was another "friend" who pitied him and would never stop asking if he was okay, how he was holding up, and if he needed any help. He hadn't realized he had slammed the torch down on top of the pipe of steel he had been soldering until the _clang_ shot around the inside of the workroom, making Astrid gasp.

Before six months ago, he would have done a backflip or fainted or both if Astrid Hofferson had asked him if he wanted to get lunch or something with her because she was his childhood best friend and he was crazy about her. But now the thought of "catching up" with her just made his blood boil. Now she was just another "friend" who pitied him and would never stop asking if he was okay, how he was holding up, and if he needed any help. He took a deep breath to try to calm himself.

"That's not a good idea," he said flatly.

"Why not-" she began to ask before he cut her off.

"I'm _fine_ , Astrid. I'm just _fine_. So _please_ don't act like you're my friend again just because you pity me. I'm _so sick_ of being pitied!" it was all he could do not to scream at her.

Astrid simply blinked at him for a moment before morphing into an expression he couldn't read, "Hiccup, people who are _fine_ don't explode like this. And I'm not acting. I am your friend and I really do want to spend time with you," instead of responding he turned away from her again. She sighed, "Okay. I'm leaving Gobber my number, use it if you feel you need to."

Hiccup listened to her feet pad gently away as she left the shop. He tried not to think about how sad her sigh had sounded.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Gobber walked him to his car that evening when he got off work, an act that about drove Hiccup up the walls-"It was a ONE TIME INCIDENT, Gobber, I do NOT need a babysitter!"-but at least his mentor didn't try to come up with some half-assed excuse that Hiccup wouldn't believe. The shop was a mixed use building, and while Gobber's well-kept '52 Chevy truck was permanently parked in the back lot one space away from Hiccup's own (Hiccup always left a space between his car and the vintage truck out of fear of what would happen to him if he accidentally damaged it in any way,) his mentor lived in the apartment above the shop, so he had no feasible reason to accompany Hiccup outside besides to ensure he stayed out of trouble. The graying man simply followed him out to his car, not giving an inch against the complaints he received.

Hiccup had folded himself into the driver's seat and reached for the door handle when a large calloused hand stopped him, offering him a scrap of paper.

"Why are you giving me your trash?" Hiccup asked exasperatedly.

"Just take it, lad," Gobber answered, unperturbed by his apprentice's snark. Hiccup complied and squinted at the handwriting crawling across the paper like ants, eventually revealing themselves as a series of numbers. Before Hiccup could ask, the Scot continued, "It's a copy of Astrid's phone number. I'm keeping the original at the front desk in case you lose that one," the boy didn't miss the pointed look Gobber gave him when he said the word 'lose,' "Call her. I don't care if it's tonight or tomorrow or next week, but you need to sometime."

His mentor clapped a hand on his shoulder before retreating to the garage door of the shop as Hiccup backed his car out and waiting until it was out of sight before going inside.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

While Hiccup found the say as a whole beyond exhausting, fate had even more infuriating things in store for him.

The sun had just begun to set and Hiccup had glanced away from the road for no longer than a second when his tires pitched sideways and launched the car into a wild spin. Completely caught off guard, the boy panicked and attempted to turn his wheel into the spin, when that had little effect he turned it the other direction, desperately trying to remember what his instructor had advised in these situations in his driving class. Was it turn the wheel _with_ the spin or _against_ it?! Knowing it was no use, Hiccup slammed his foot against the brake, hearing them them grind roughly together as he finally skidded to a stop.

Chest heaving and heart pounding, Hiccup put the car in park before bursting outside for air he had been robbed of. He doubled over and braced his hands against his violently shaking knees, his vision white. He sputtered and coughed while he regained his breath, straightening to observe the damage. He hadn't hit anything that he could see, the car sat undamaged at the side of the road. Listening cautiously for oncoming cars Hiccup walked on his shaky legs back along the road in the direction he had come, searching for the cause of his loss of control. He only had to walk a few yards before he found it.

Although it was the first week of May, a thick sheet of black ice stretched across the road, it's sheer surface tarnished by the pattern of Hiccup's tires where they had sailed across and begun their tailspin. Hiccup was still standing dumbfounded when he heard the dry sound of a throat clear behind him.

Whirling around, Hiccup met a pair of mischievous ice-blue eyes and a cocksure grin. Finding it impossible to form a coherent sentence in his state, Hiccup's mouth flapped open and closed for a moment before uttering, "What, w-who…?"

"Aw, never mind the 'what' kid," the boy before him said, his deep voice riddled with humor, as if Hiccup was the subject of a hilarious joke, "and don't you worry about the 'who' for now-that'll come later."

More confused than ever, Hiccup tried again to speak, "D-did you see what just happened? Look at this," he gestured to the ice covering the road, "it's sixty-seven degrees outside! How did this ice get here? Did you lose control, too?"

"Nah, give me some credit. I'm totally in control," the young man rolled back on his heels-which, Hiccup now noticed were bare.

"Where are your-" he stopped abruptly to regain some sensitivity. Was this boy homeless? It would explain the tattered pants and faded blue hoodie, "U-uh, do you, uh, need any help?"

"Me?" the boy laughed, his white hair bobbing, "it looks to me like you're the one needing help."

"N-no, I think I'm alright. I just can't figure out how all this ice got here." Hiccup turned back around to ponder the natural marvel before him. He leapt backwards and hit the ground as if struck when the boy landed in front of him on the sheet of ice, as if he had dropped from the sky. The staff he held tapped the ground as the boy laughed.

"That would be me," he belted as he leaned down in a low bow, "the name's Jack Frost."


	3. His First Foe

Auth note: Hey all! I've made a playlist for this story on my spotify, check it out! Here's the link:  user/taylor_renae6/playlist/1fm3MMiJxxJDBOgU53PAOr

PS. Sorry Jack acts like a jerk in this chapter, everybody gets their acts together, I promise!

Hiccup rediscovers Astrid's stubbornness as well as a certain trick he can do with his dog.

Chapter Three

" _The name's Jack Frost."_

Hiccup couldn't help but stare at him. This boy may be homeless as he had originally guessed or maybe he had just escaped from a mental hospital. Or maybe both. He watched as this "Jack" straightened with a smirk.

"Don't believe me?" he asked with a determined look, as if Hiccup had just challenged him to a dare he knew he'd win, "Just watch,"

Taking one step forward to where the iced road ended and the asphalt began, he lifted the shepherd-hook staff in his hand and brought it down with a whoosh. Hiccup had began to slowly stand and prepare to run back for his car when the pavement beneath him became impossible to stand on, frosted patterns swirling their way across the ground. Hiccup gasped as he felt the temperature drop suddenly, his breath coming out in a fog against the slick surface of the asphalt. He grunted as he felt a sharp jab come down on the center of his back. This Frost was poking him with his staff! Hiccup bristed and tried to stand, but the staff had a shocking weight to it. Shifting his head to look at the offending stick, Hiccup again gasped harshly-Frost was perched on the curve of the shepherd's hook, hands resting on his bent knees and totally unsupported. Maybe Hiccup was the crazy one-this was completely impossible.

"Getoffme!" Hiccup shouted, hearing his words flood together in his panic. Frost only laughed above him.

"Or what?" he taunted, clearly enjoying himself. Hiccup eventually gathered enough strength to push past Frost's weight and roll to one side, releasing a relieved breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in once the pressure had lifted off his back. The white haired boy just laughed harder, his smile reaching his ears as he floated easily to the ground. Hiccup scrambled to his feet, only for them to slip out from under him again on the ice layered beneath him.

"Y-you're insane!" he cried, landing hard on one knee.

"Sure I am, but hey, you're the one seeing a man fly!" Frost doubled over in laughter at his reasoning before kicking off the ground to whisk through the air again, as if to mock the boy below him.

Hiccup had had more than enough of the sprite's antics, and turned away from Frost to howl into the wind, "HELLLP! SOMEBODY HELLLLP!" While this side of the town was sparsely populated, _someone_ had to be nearby enough to hear his cries.

"Kid, relax, I'm just having a little fun," he reasoned, raising his voice to be heard over Hiccup's screams, "and besides, nobody can hear you. Even if somebody could, what could they do? Just learn to take a joke!"

Hiccup was shoved forward by a gust of wind so cold his teeth began to chatter violently, "It's not _that_ bad!" he heard Frost shout over the roar in his ears. Curling into a ball and covering up his head, Hiccup shuddered against the growing feeling of dread in his gut, feeling like this was yet _another_ fight that wouldn't end well for him.

The sudden sound of snarling and barking didn't make him look up from his position on the ground, just thinking it was another one of Frost's tricks. It wasn't until he heard the shouts that he dared to look up. Frost was scrambling away from a black mass that rushed him from the side of the road. After a moment of backpedaling, the sprite must have lost his concentration on Hiccup, because the freezing wind finally subsided and Hiccup was able to rise from the ground and observe the scene before him in the growing black mass became familiar as the unbearable ringing in his ears lessened; His normally docile and curious dog was snapping his impressive white teeth at the young man scooting away on his bare feet. Hiccup swore he saw Frost slip on his own ice before he must have remembered he could fly and tumbled into the air, as if he himself had been attacked by the wind like Hiccup had moments before.

Hiccup remembered Frost claiming that no one could aid him if he had been heard and thought that if he had been any less shocked, he might have laughed in triumph. But as it was, Frost was currently shooting what looked to be shards of ice at the paws of his best friend, the dog narrowly dodge the projectiles. Cautiously slipping forward to move behind Frost as best he could, Hiccup thought he might be able to stop him if he could the young man off guard. He might be able to jump high enough to grab his ankle and pull him down to Hiccup's height-but if that worked, then what? Hiccup was still painfully sore from the beating he received the previous day. One good hook to the face or torso would take Hiccup down, not to mention his knuckles on both hands were purple and split open, so if he could hit Frost fast enough he still wouldn't last very long.

His attempt to formulate a plan was cut short when he noticed Frost's hands joining together at the staff as he drew up back, looking to be gearing up. Based on what Frost was able to do while trying to simply play with Hiccup he didn't want to find out what he could do to his beloved dog while trying to fight him.

"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup cried, reaching forward to his friend, adrenaline setting his nerves ablaze as he watched the black mutt's attention shift to him and then leap into a run for him owners arms. Frost barely had time to react before Hiccup had his hand fisted in the thick black fur on Toothless's neck.

Hiccup's vision whited out as an overwhelming wave of heat encompassed his entire body.

He couldn't feel Toothless's heat anymore, or maybe the heat that flooded him was too strong, he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure where he was anymore, or if he was standing had fallen or if he was even touching the ground. It certainly didn't feel like he was.

The heat seared through him with the thought: Was he dead? Had Frost caught on to what he was planning to do and sought to end his plaything?

He had begun to panic when dots of color slowy returned his sight to him, the world spinning as he attempted to stay on his feet. His hands shot out in front of him in a feeble attempt to steady himself. He barely registered Frost's startled gasp from somewhere outside his line of sight as well as the sudden absence of Toothless-he was too focused on his hands.

They had been relatively normal hands a moment before-bruised and cut up, yes, but _definitely_ human. Now, if he hadn't known they were attached to him he would've been fooled. At the end of each of his long, slender fingers on both hands were hooked talons, each half as long as his pinky finger. Black skin-no, not skin, _scales_ , spread from the center of the backs of his hands up both arms, past the short sleeves of his t-shirt. The movement of his arms created a gentle _whisk_ sound in the now still air and he nearly choked on his tongue when he noticed the movement of the thin, waxy wings that spilled out behind his arms, somewhat resembling those of a bat. He had almost forgotten Frost's presence until he heard his slightly shaky voice.

"Wh-what are you?" he asked, sounding more curious than terrified, which was more than could be said for Hiccup, whose words wouldn't come out as more than a garbled collection of sounds that made no sense to either of the young men.  
"I-I-I…" was really all he could get out coherently until he remembered that he hadn't been completely alone with Frost until a moment ago, "T-t-t-Too-ess? Tooth-ess!"

" _Rrrowwl_?" the sound hadn't been heard by his ears, he realized, but had been produced _inside_ his own head. And although he felt nothing but confusion and fright, he found a sense of… curiosity, he decided it was, inside him. But it felt foreign somehow, like the emotion didn't belong to him, "What is happening?" Hiccup groaned, frantic.

An anxious tapping sound brought his attention back to Frost. He stood mere feet from him on the ice, watching him with an unreadable expression, "This is… new," he cleared his throat before shifting his staff to point at Hiccup.

A feral growl ignited in his mind, less like an invasion this time as Hiccup almost wanted to do the same. Planting his feet, he lowered himself down on his haunches and froze, a crazy new plan formulating in his mind. He almost grinned as the idea was pushed into his brain, like his mind was a computer downloading a new program. He wasn't entirely sure where this plan came from, if not his own mind, but something inside him sensed a threat and at the moment he didn't feel like arguing with it.

The instinct to push off his feet and use the talons on his hands to claw his way across the ice might not have been his, but his body carried out the command as naturally as if he was born to. Frost was caught off guard by Hiccup's sudden ability to glide across the ice like his dog had done mere minutes before and couldn't regain his composure fast enough to dive out of the way; Instead, the air was forced out of his lungs as Hiccup barreled into him. Kicking off the ground as hard as he could, the wind lifted them both into the air, not as high as Frost had gone before due to the sudden added weight, but just high enough to hurt Hiccup if he dropped him.

Another wild scheme forced its way into Hiccup's head and before he could come back to himself long enough to protest, his arms pushed out to hold Frost at arms length and he lifted his feet to an upwards crouch, parallel to the chest of his attacker before kicking out as hard as he could-which was a surprising amount of strength, Hiccup mused as the two were forced apart in the air. At least forty feet in the air, he noticed as he began to plummet for the ground. Instinct forced his hand again-this time, however, it didn't feel like it came from the intruding force, rather from himself, which he found strange, seeing as the average human _did not_ fly-and he stretched his arms, feeling the wings extending from his back catch the wind and slow his descent.

A sharp pain sliced along the side of his abdomen and he cranked his head around, feeling the muscles in his neck pull tight enough to burn. Frost must have recovered enough to fling shards of ice in his general direction. The growl returned in his mind and the same instinct that told him to fly screamed at him to _FIRE!_

He had barely registered the order when he did a spun himself forward (in the air in was more of _upside down_ ) and felt searing heat slide along his arms and escape through his fingertips-finger- _talons_ -which seemed to simmer as the air surrounding them heated up. Hiccup's heart caught in his throat when flames leaped from his extended hands, blinding orange at the end and as blue as his handheld torch at the ends of each of his fingers. The blast of fire shot forward faster than he could run, erupting as it hit his target. He heard Frost's frightened cry as his wings lost their air buffer and they both fell from the sky.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Hiccup didn't really remember how he got home after the fight, but when he woke up on his couch sunlight flooded into the room, making his bleary eyes burn almost as much as his throat.. He scrambled for his phone once he noticed the arms of the clock on the wall displayed that it was currently _noon_. Patting the pockets of his now impossibly frayed jeans, he realized he must have left his phone in his car. Which was still missing. Standing on unsteady feet and staggering to the landline phone, the pain that encompassed his entire body nearly made him pass out. The more he moved, the worse the pain got. Reaching for the phone, he nearly leapt out of his skin-his _black, scaly_ skin-at the sight of his hand. The scales still stretched up from his hand, the talons still present at the tips of his fingers. Making a choked noise, he reached for the phone again-his disbelief increasing when he saw the day it displayed: Sunday. The fight had been _Friday_ evening! Hiccup had supposedly been knocked out for a day and a half.

Struggling to find a bright side, at least Hiccup didn't have to go to work that day.

He stumbled to the bathroom and looked into the mirror, startled by his own reflection. The scales traced the entirety of his body, the only places they didn't really cover completely were his hands and his face, where the scales got thinner until they were replaced by skin, only vaguely obscuring the features of his face. His ears were elongated and looked to be of the same waxy material as the wings that outstretched from behind him-independent of his arms, unlike he had originally thought. He found if he could focus, he could move them both seperately, like an extra pair of hands. While he was undoubtedly bewildered of these new alterations from the body he had been born with, he couldn't help but be fascinated, as well.

He could feel his heart rate slow as he attempted to study himself deeper in the mirror's reflection. The closest thing he could think of that resembled his current appearance even slightly was a bat: The wings looked to be of a similar dark tint as the photos he had seen, and while they didn't end in fingers and thumbs, they were shaped not unlike a bat's. They were waxy and paper thin, yet when he ran a talon along them, they seemed to be as strong as steel. His exploration of this new form was cut short when the same wave of heat he had experienced two days before assaulted him again, and he swore he could feel something tear away from him. He found himself knocked brutally backwards against the cold floor, hearing a loud thump next to him and the tell-tale panicked _scrape_ of claws against the linoleum.

Toothless scrambled at his feet, looking to be as bewildered as he himself was, "Toothless? Easy bud, calm down," Hiccup soothed, but hearing how his own voice shook, he doubted how serious the ebony dog would take him. Reaching out an unsteady hand, Hiccup cautiously leaned forward to touch the dark fur; The last thing he remembered before he became… whatever that was, was Toothless running into his outstretched arms. Once they touched his best friend had disappeared and Hiccup suddenly had wings and scales. Toothless seemed to recall this, too, for he stared reproachfully at the approaching hand. He didn't seem to like the idea of repeating whatever they had just gone through. After a moment of silent debate, he allowed the boy to place a hand on one side of his muzzle. He had had nothing to worry about, for nothing happened. The two were back to a simple old dog and his boy.

While Toothless appeared to feel nothing but relief, Hiccup wasn't sure if he felt the same or if he felt disappointment. He definitely hadn't hallucinated all that had happened, so what the hell could have possible caused him to sprout wings?

When Toothless turned away from him to scratch at the bathroom door and whine Hiccup stood and left him out, figuring he must be starving, because he felt the deep rumble of his empty stomach, too. Toothless finished four and a half bowls of dog food, licking up every bit of kibble that had overflowed onto the floor before each time it was refilled while Hiccup busied himself cleaning out almost all the sparse contents of his fridge and freezer, barely sparing the time to cook two hamburger patties all the way and completely microwaving three TV dinner meals, instead eating them mostly raw and half frozen.

While he munched on bread rolls that had questionable expiration dates, Hiccup pondered over the impossible events he had just experienced. He knew he would spend hours doing research on the computer on everything from science journals to conspiracy blogs to find something that even remotely made sense, but for that moment, he couldn't help but think about how the end of his fight with Frost had ended. The sprite must have decided he had had enough and split soon after they were both thrown to the ground from the force of Hiccup's blast. The last thing Frost had said to him kept ringing in his head:

" _You put up a good fight, I have to say; I haven't had this much fun in a long time! We'll have to pick it back up again sometime. To be continued, right kid? See ya 'round!" he called down to Hiccup as his winds lifted him back into the air and out of sight before Hiccup could fully register what the sprite had said and what it implied._

Maybe he should make use of the punching bag Gobber had hung for him.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Hiccup thought it was strange how his elbows were the first parts of him to get sore as he attempted to beat the bright red punching bag to death, rather than his fists or biceps. On Monday morning with the shop's garage door open, Hiccup was pleasantly fanned by the cool breeze from outside while he fought the red demon that hung from the ceiling, his blows knocking it into a slow, heavy swing. Frost had seemed to have a strange sort of fascination with his newly found powers-or, whatever they were, and Hiccup knew it was only a matter of time before he'd meet up with that snarky trickster again. When he did, he wanted to be able to _really_ fight back. This wasn't like what happened with the three men back when he had defended Snotlout, obviously those men had had no supernatural powers. But then again, neither had Hiccup. Frost wasn't the only one with a crazy ability to fly; now Hiccup could too… But Frost clearly had much more experience in controlling them than Hiccup did, and he should only assume he had combat training as well, more than he himself had, at least. Hiccup might not know exactly how to master his abilities yet, but in the meantime he might as well learn how to throw an effective punch. _Baby steps,_ he told himself.

"Try planting your legs more," called a voice from the garage door, startling Hiccup so badly he completely missed his target and shot past the punching bag which swung into his side on the way down, knocking him brutally to the ground in a fit of coughs. Rubbing his now bruised elbows-oh yeah, they would be ten times more sore now-he pushed himself off the floor to face the blonde approaching him.

"Astrid! What are you-"

"If you plant your feet it'll allow you to put more power into your hits," she advised him, now close enough to grasp him by the shoulders and whip him around to face the bag before he could recover from his surprise and protest. Her hands moved to hold his hips still-he tried not to scoot away at the foreign feeling of being touched in the sensitive area, by Astrid Hofferson, no less-as she prodded his feet into position and stepped back, "There. That's the proper stance. Try again. Use your legs to add to your force."

If he weren't so desperate to beat Frost, Hiccup would have sent her away. But as it was, he didn't have anyone he could go to for fighting tips, so he followed her advice, dropping down slightly before shooting back up and landing the punch. He stubbornly refused to let his expression reveal that he was pleased when the bag shot back, bouncing on the chain harder than it had on any of his previous attempts.

"Nice," Astrid praised, "you've got a pretty good left," she turned and began moving for the open garage door.

"Did you just come in here to give me advice on how to land a punch and then leave?" he asked, incredulous.

"Of course not," she called over her shoulder, "I'm a customer, so you have to treat me with respect this time!"

"Hope you don't mind," Gobber's voice from behind him made him jump-how was _everyone_ just sneaking up on him today? "I just told her to bring it in."

"Bring wha-" Hiccup was cut off by the growl of an engine and turned to watch a powder blue motorcycle roll into the garage, Astrid seated at the handlebars.

"My head light's busted," she explained after she had powered the bike off and kicked her stand into place.

"Don't you worry, lass, my skilled apprentice here will service all your needs," Gobber said, not noticing how Hiccup paled at his unintentionally suggestive choice of words, "look a' the muscles he growing-"

This time he did notice Hiccup's widened eyes-a clear sign that his 'help' was not actually helping, despite his best efforts.

"Right, well, I've got a… There's this thing I've been… I-" he cleared his throat before slipping away, "I'll be...over here…"

Hiccup coughed, trying to regain his composure as he turned back to the blonde, "Yeah, he hasn't changed a whole lot since last time you saw him."

Astrid smirked, "I can tell."

"The head lamp's broken, you said?" he moved toward the bike, "Do you know how long it's been since it was last replaced?"

"Not since before I got it. It's been almost two years now," she answered, leaning back against the car being worked on next to them, "this car is really dusty, how long has it been here?"

Glancing her way, Hiccup resumed his study of the lamp, "That one? About two weeks,"

" _Two_ _weeks_? What's wrong with it?"

Hiccup resisted the urge to sigh, "Recurring engine failure problems."

"And that takes two weeks to fix?"

Hiccup fixed her with an impatient look, "For us, it does. We're not the fastest-working mechanics, but we do quality work."

"Yeah, I was warned about that," she responded vaguely. Hiccup looked up at her again.

"Warned? By who?"

"My new boss." Hiccup sent a reproachful look her way.

"You've already got a job?"

"Yep. Next door."

Hiccup couldn't tell if she was joking or not. Next door was a boutique that Hiccup never noticed anyone enter. He tried not to seem too annoyed when he questioned, "If you were warned that it might take a while, why would you bring your bike to us?"

Astrid shrugged, "I knew you guys would give me a good deal. And besides, it's been awhile since I've come to a mechanic in town; I knew I could trust you guys."

That was reasonable, Hiccup had to admit. He had began to think there was no ulterior motive to Astrid's presence in the shop today and he was just being paranoid when he noticed how the wires of the headlamp were separated. They had clearly been cut with wire cutters. Trying to give the blonde the benefit of the doubt, he considered that somebody else had busted the lamp, but after of moment he excused it. No one would try to sabotage Astrid Hofferson's transportation.

"This light was broken manually. The wires inside it have been cut," he sighed, looking up at her, "is there something you wanna tell me?"

Astrid smiled innocently at him from where she stood, "After how you acted when I came into the shop the other day, I knew you wouldn't call."

"So you decided to break the light on your own bike?" he asked incredulously.

She shrugged again, "I really want to spend some time with you Hiccup. And no because I 'pity' you, it's because you were my best friend when we were younger, and I miss you."

He tried very hard not to let his surprise show as she continued, "So come out to eat with me. Please."

He sighed, supposing Astrid would find other ways of getting him to spend time with her if he refused, so he finally it would be better not to extend this fight. Knowing Astrid, it would go on forever.

"If I say yes, will you refrain from breaking things off your bike in the future?"


	4. Home Invasion

I'm so sorry, I didn't realize that the link to the spotify playlist doesn't work until well after I published it, so here's the URL, hopefully that works, just remove all the spaces: user/ taylor_renae6/playlist/ 1fm3MMiJxxJDBOgU53PAOr

"Scars" by James Bay is totally the theme song of this chapter.

Chapter Four

When Astrid said she wanted to go eat, she didn't mean sometime later that week or month. She was waiting for him in the back lot when he got off work. When he saw her, he mentally cursed, knowing Gobber had a hand in this. She stood against her newly-fixed powder blue motorcycle, picking at dirt embedded under her thumbnail with a pocket knife. Hiccup approached with caution, not wanting to startle her and cut herself, or use that knife on _him_. He had no cause to be nervous, though. Thankfully she must have heard him coming and sheathed the knife, putting it back in her purse and smiling at him.

"Uhh, exactly what do you have stored in that purse of yours?" he asked, noting that the handbag didn't really look that big, despite the fact she had just stored a three-inch modern Bowie knife inside it.

"Necessities," she answered simply. Hiccup waited for a moment, expecting her to elaborate, but he should have known better. She stood, "you drive I'll pay?"

Hiccup nodded at the suggestion, warily eyeing the bike behind her. Although he had just fixed it and could see the expert workmanship that went into building it, he wasn't sure he trusted it… Or Astrid's driving.

He turned and lead her back to his car, "Where did you get that bike, anyway? I've never seen a blue Suzuki Hayabusa."

Astrid nodded as she followed him, "Good eye," she admitted, "my uncle got it cheap from a friend. It was originally silver and he gave it to me as a high school graduation present. After I graduated my freshman year at Penn State he had it painted blue."

"Uncle Finn?" Hiccup asked before he could stop himself. He remembered her uncle fondly, as he was like a father to her and seemed to like Hiccup more than Astrid's mother did. She smirked and nudged him in the shoulder with her elbow. While Hiccup was sure she just meant it as a friendly gesture, it hurt. He turned his face away from her to grimace in pain. After all the beatings he had taken lately, one would think he'd have a higher tolerance to pain. Not when it came to Astrid Hofferson, he supposed.

"Of _course_ you remember my Uncle Finn," she laughed, "You were always his favorite out of all my friends. Whenever he met a new friend of mine, boy or girl, he would always ask, 'Where's Hiccup? I like Hiccup better, Hiccup's a good boy, Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup. I don't think he ever learned your real name, though."

Hiccup couldn't keep himself from smiling, "I think I like it better that way," he opened the passenger door of his car for her, closing it once she had seated herself and hopped around to the driver side. He remembered that Astrid had told Finn Hiccup's full name when she introduced him, middle name and all. Seeing that they were only five at the time, he wasn't surprised he didn't remember a name like Harper Haddock the Third. If it weren't his own Hiccup doubted he would remember it himself.

His father had dubbed him as 'Hiccup' when he was a tiny toddler who didn't like to finish his meals, always reminding him that he'd be a 'string bean' forever if he didn't eat his dinners. While he had wanted to please his father, his younger self hated having a full belly because he would have the hiccups at night when he would be put down for bed. Two years and several different doctors later, they discovered it wasn't actually a full belly at night that had been giving Hiccup the hiccups; He was lactose intolerant, and a glass of milk with his dinner had not only been keeping him up at night, but also stunting his growth by making him not want to finish his meals.

Turning on the engine and reminding Astrid to put on her seatbelt-he swore he saw her blush in embarrassment at the command, although he knew better than to call her out on it-he began backing his car carefully out of the lot.

"Right, thanks," Astrid acknowledged from beside him, "I've gotten so used to my bike that buckling up isn't a habit anymore."

"S'okay. Where are we headed?" he asked, exiting the lot.

"To the Firepit Diner," she responded casually. He couldn't help but smile fondly once the significance of the location registered. It was the diner right on the town's border that they were brought to after every play day when they were younger. Hiccup's parents took them when they were younger before bringing Astrid home before Hiccup's mother's disappearance, and it had been such a tradition for the four of them to go together that the kids dreaded going back afterwards, thinking the memory of her would sit in every booth and would be too much for them. They had believed that Stoick had felt the same way until a month after the funeral when he brought them back to the diner, its once happy appearance morphing into one that made both children whine at the sight. But Stoick had picked the two six-year-olds up and carried them to the first empty booth he found, one in each arm and sat them down next to one another. Hiccup had begun to cry when Stoick wiped the tears from his thin cheeks. Over thirteen years later and Hiccup still remembered his words en verbatim:

" _I know it's hard coming back to this place after all that's happened, kids. We have so many memories of her here, but do you know what all those memories are?" both red-eyed kindergarteners shook their head, "They're all happy. Every one of them. I think when we come here, instead of being sad about losing someone we all loved, we should celebrate her. How does that sound, you two?"_

Hiccup immediately knew Astrid's reasoning for choosing the old diner from their childhood: To celebrate his father, just like they did for years for his mother. They sat in silence for the length of the drive, but it wasn't by any means uncomfortable. Hiccup found himself surprised by the mere presence of his childhood best friend in the seat next to him comforted him, despite how far apart they grew in their later adolescence. For years he had wanted an explanation from her as to why she kept him at arm's length, then gradually farther, but as he drove he felt that he didn't care if she ever explained herself, although he couldn't say how long that feeling would last.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

The parking lot of the diner was fairly full when they pulled in, finding a spot to the far side of the lot, next to the _Welcome to Burgess_ sign for those leaving town. Printed on the other side of the huge billboard Hiccup knew there was a misleadingly beautiful _Welcome to Berk_ sign, depicting the lights of the city beneath a charming sunset. It was better than the illustration for Burgess, Berk's sister-city, which was just a bleak-looking city covered in snow, but at least their town's billboard was more honest than that of Berk's which only brought in tourists to disappoint.

Astrid was still unbuckling her seatbelt when Hiccup opened her door, clearly frustrated with the buckle, which was infamous for sticking. He had reached forward to help her unlatch it when the stubborn apparatus spat out the buckle, snapping Hiccup's already bruised hand in the process. Wincing, he stepped back so she could exit, struggling to look casual when she smiled an apology, looking more amused than what was probably polite.

It didn't take them too long to find a booth with a good view of the sunset that bathed their spot in a gold that made Astrid's braided hair burn in the seat across from him. She didn't waste any time jumping into a conversation that didn't take Hiccup long at all to join with an air of joviality, finding himself as at ease as he had years ago when they were still joined at the hip. He even dared to feel as if they hadn't missed a single beat.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

"So _Snotlout_ is the reason you got bashed up?" Astrid asked, incredulous.

"Oh come on, it's not like you've never beat up on him before," Hiccup reminded her as she chortled.

"Yeah but I've never _taken_ a beating for him!" she responded, out of breath from laughing.

"It wasn't entirely his fault, I guess. He was pretty drunk. He had no idea what he was doing. Like seriously none, you should've seen him," Hiccup laughed.

"He's drinking during the day now?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice.

"And he's not holding back, either! I practically had to carry him to the back lot, then I actually had to carry him to my car," Hiccup laughed at the memory, as uncomfortable as the memory was. It took her a moment to catch her breath from laughing. Hiccup laughed at how funny she looked with her face red and frozen in a laugh so long it completely winded her. When she fanned her face, trying to cool it down he nearly choked on his water.

They had finished their food what felt like a while ago, and her card still sat on the table with the already paid bill. Eventually, when his cheeks and abdomen were sore from laughing like he hadn't in years, Hiccup glanced at his watch and noticed that two hours had gone by without either of them noticing. They had been in the booth so long Hiccup began to notice the wait staff was glaring daggers into their heads as the diner began to fill up for the dinner hour.

The sky outside had fallen into a deep darkness and a chill seeped in subtly from the windows when an overwhelming apprehension flooded over him, completely void of a source. Looking around the diner, Hiccup could see nothing out of what could be considered ordinary. He couldn't think of any feasible reason for him to get so worked up; He was so comfortable sitting with Astrid and he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could before the night had ended, but the feeling was way too strong to ignore. Something was unquestionably wrong, he just hadn't figured out what yet.

He tried to steady his suddenly shallow breathing as he focused on trying to place the fear. It felt like he was being _invaded-_ as if someone was peeking inside his mind in order to send him a message. There wasn't just fear he found as he probed further, there was also a defensive kind of aggression, the kind he would experience if stranger picked a stranger came into his space to harass him; It was an instinctive need to protect himself. He could feel his face pale when he realized he had experienced a similar sensation on the night he had fought with Frost. What's more, the sharp instinctual mess he felt had a foreign feeling, like it wasn't quite his. He knew without a doubt what this all had meant.

 _Toothless_. His best friend was calling to him. He had no clue how or why, but he didn't care. He had to get to him.

"Hiccup?" Astrid's voice snapped his thoughts back to the diner, startling him enough to bump into the table so hard his glass tipped. His hand shot out without his consent and caught the cup mid-tilt before the ice could topple onto the surface of the booth and righted it. Looking back up at her, he found that she was startled too, "Woah… uh, nice reflexes… Are you okay? You're kinda sweaty."

Despite the chilly temperature of the diner, Hiccup found he indeed had a noticeable sheen of sweat shining on his forehead when he looked into the window beside them, the darkness of the early evening creating a dark mirror. He wiped the back of his shaking hand against his brow, "Y-yeah, I'm just-I-I think that I better be getting home, I-I leave my d-dog outside during the day and it's probably time I feed him, and besides, the coyote activity around my house is crazy at this time of night, there's all kinds of howling and-" he rambled, standing.

Although Astrid looked confused, she didn't question him, just gathered her bag and followed him to the car, only speaking when he opened her door for her when she stood uncomfortably close to him, only the car door and a few inches in between them. Hiccup tried not to avoid her eyes; she had always been _really_ good at telling when he was lying, and he could tell that was what she was trying to do.

"Seriously, are you okay? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine. Don't worry. Let me just get you back to the shop to pick up your bike."

She didn't look at all convinced, but thankfully she complied, this time Hiccup forgetting to tell her to put on her seatbelt as his car raced from the parking lot. The silence of the car was certainly not comfortable this time around, but he didn't really pay attention to it, he was too distracted by the distress call ringing in his mind.

"Hiccup," Astrid's voice was tense, "you're going almost twenty over the speed limit!"

Looking away from the road for the first time, Hiccup blinked in surprise when he saw she was right and slowed so quickly Astrid slipped forward in her seat, "Sorry," he said, winded.

"Okay, what's wrong?" she demanded, righting herself in the seat and reaching for the 'panic handle' on the roof of the vehicle above her door.

"I-"

"And don't you _dare_ say you're fine!" she threatened as he finally reached the shop, not slowing down nearly enough to comfortably turn the corner into the back lot.

"I-I really can't talk about it right now, Astrid!" he said exasperatedly and jumped out of the car, practically sprinting to Astrid's side. She beat him to the door, however, and grabbed him by the front of his thin hoodie, presumably to keep him from fleeing and Hiccup was reminded that although her arms were lean, she was strong.

"Hiccup, if you don't-"

" _Astrid_!" his sharp tone cut her off, and she blinked at his outburst, "I _really_ can't talk about it! I-I'll call you later, I _promise_."

With that, he gently pried her hands away and backed away, "Are you going to be okay getting home?" he asked her, suddenly remembering he was sending a barely twenty-year-old away on her own after dark, even if it was _Astrid_.

"Me?" she asked incredulously, "I should be asking you!"

He scowled but waited for her to confirm that she would be fine before hopping back into his car and racing back home, remaining vigilant for patches of black ice layered along the dark roads. He felt he wouldn't be surprised if that white-haired sprite had something to do with Toothless' fright; the whole ordeal where he and the dog… _merged_ was a stressful event to say the very least, and that wasn't something he expected the three-year-old dog to get over fast. The mere sight of Frost could be something that upset him, he had no doubt. If that ice-king was at his home he was going to enjoy getting revenge for the tricks he had played. And if he had done anything to his best friend he would pay tenfold.

It felt like an eternity before Hiccup finally reached his house, slamming on his breaks when Toothless ran out from the trees to the right of the property. He leaped out of the car the moment he cut the engine, leaving the keys inside the vehicle. He could feel the relief momentarily calm the fear that invaded his brain as he moved toward his barking dog who made a beeline toward the house before Hiccup could register what was happening.

"Toothless?" Hiccup chased him up the dry lawn to where he was stopped, snarling wildly at the house, although there was no one there that he could see, only dark shadows coloring the white paint a deep gray, almost black under the light of the newly risen moon. Eyes searching the roof, he was almost relieved at the absence of white hair and a blue hoodie but concerned that the fear in his mind didn't vacate. He had taken two steps for the house when the shadows draped over his house began to lift, swirling away like sand in the wind. The barking became wilder than ever, and Hiccup found himself backing away from the sight, feeling his own fear add to Toothless'

The darkness shrunk away, slowly at first and then as if it were a pet being called back to his master. Once there was no longer a sign of it, the barking ceased and Toothless loped up to the door, pawing at the screen. Hiccup cautiously followed, knowing that if the dog hadn't been fine with approaching the house he would've slept in his car rather than enter.

He shushed Toothless as he pulled the screen door back as quietly as he could, his apprehension growing when he found the main door unlocked and heard noises coming from inside. He cautiously turned the handle, doing his best to avoid alerting anyone inside although he didn't doubt that if someone was there he knew Hiccup and Toothless were, too. Pushing the door open a crack, he gasped and was yanked forward when Toothless shoved past him into the house and rushed into the living room. Hiccup warily followed, turning on the lights in every room he passed along the way, thankfully finding them all empty.

A dancing stream of brightly colored light streamed into the hall from the living room, and Hiccup relaxed slightly when he recognized the tones characteristic of a news reporter coming from the TV-it had definitely not been on when Hiccup left for work that morning. Toothless stood staring at the screen, frozen save for his panting. Hiccup froze alongside him when he saw the breaking news banners stamped on the corner of the screen with the headline sliding by: TERROR IN DOWNTOWN BURGESS.

Live footage of what vaguely resembled a sci-fi film chronicled a frightening altercation between a tidal wave of shadows and a familiar white-haired boy wearing a blue hoodie.

"Frost," Hiccup gasped, Toothless looking up at him and whining as if looking to him for orders.

 _Stay or go?_ The words forced themselves into Hiccup's mind so quickly he jumped. Looking back at the screen, he found himself wincing as he watched the boy's floating form get pummeled to the pavement a good nine stories below him. These shadows, whatever they were, may have shared a common enemy with Hiccup, but as they reached dark tendrils for bystanders, people screaming in the streets, Frost shot wave after wave of ice to keep the darkness at bay. It seemed clear in his mind that there was no way Hiccup could stand by and do nothing.

Toothless must have felt his decision and wagged his tail, turning and running from the room. Hiccup followed, stopping at the closet beside the door to fish out his father's old black ski mask from the little plastic accessory drawer inside the door-his face was still vaguely recognizable after he merged with Toothless, and with all the news stations trying to capture the fight he didn't want to risk his face being broadcasted on the TV.

He stepped on one of the many shoes littering the floor of the deep closet as he exited, feeling it fold beneath his weight and he came toppling over onto the hardwood. Ignoring Toothless' whine as he pawed the door, Hiccup cast a glare over his shoulder where his old soccer cleats sat innocently beneath his foot. Remembering his inability to walk on Frost's ice during their altercation, he crawled to the shoes-which had only been worn four times while he was trying to find an after-school activity that he was actually good at his freshman year of high school-and replaced them with the sneakers he wore to work.

Toothless barked impatiently at him and Hiccup scrambled to the door, burying his hand in the dark scruff on the dog's neck, hoping the adrenaline surging through his veins was the key to merging with him again. He almost cried out in triumph when the overpowering wave of heat surged through him once again, but the sensation stole the air from his lungs.

Unsteady on his new feet, Hiccup staggered and tried to control his nervousness at the task he was about to face, although inside the shared apprehension he found excitement. Taking a deep breath, he bent his knees slightly before pushing himself up into the air, wings spreading as if by second nature. Despite a complete lack of training and understanding of his own powers, the biggest concern in his mind was if he could get to Frost fast enough.


	5. I Owe You One

**I am SO sorry for the wait, I've never written this kind of fight scene before and I found it really hard for me. Thank you all so much for all the the kind reviews you've left me as well as the advice, I've found it all very helpful!**

 **If any of you are having a tough time visualizing what it looks like when Hiccup and Toothless merge, in my mind it's similar to when Jax and Professor Stein merge into "Firestorm" in** ** _Legends of Tomorrow_** **and** ** _The Flash_** **, but I invite you all to have fun with it! Hope this helps if I've been lacking in the description department!**

 **EDIT: I combined chapters five and six to stick to my twenty-chapter plan. Sorry for any confusion!**

Chapter Five

Hiccup didn't realize he had a tail until the first 'official' time he took to the air. The first time he and Toothless _merged_ as he coined it, he had only kicked into the air long enough to blast Frost out of the sky. One strong beat of his wings was all it took-nothing compared to the long journey from his house on the edge of Berk to the heart of the neighboring city of Burgess. It was thirty-five minutes by car and while he had no realistic idea how long it was by air, he knew it felt like half an eternity.

He estimated that his bat-like wings stretched twice the span of his arms, so wide they nearly brushed one another while he gained altitude and so dark they almost blended in with the night sky. He found that he didn't really have to think much about controlling his finned tail, almost as if its operation was involuntary. His tail kept him steady as he soared toward Burgess, trying to learn how to get his wings to cooperate as quickly as he could, knowing he had until he reached the center of the city to master his flying abilities or he had a very small chance of walking away from the fight unharmed-or as unharmed as one participating in a fight of this magnitude could be.

Gliding silently through the clouds, Hiccup couldn't hear much past the rush of the wind. Even with the ski mask on, what little skin on his face and hands that were uncovered by his armor-like scales burned with cold, but the rest of his body felt warm as the fire he could feel burning beneath his skin, like a fever that built his body up from the inside out rather than ravaging it.

It had been hard to tell where exactly he was from the unremarkable buildings below his from his position in the sky, but once he spotted the raised buildings in the distance, Hiccup figured that he must have already passed into Burgess. Although he wasn't fatigued by any means, he felt his breathing grow shallow and willed his wings to propel him faster, the chilly wind burning his eyes through the ski mask. He rose higher as the lights of the city grew, lifting himself deep into the clouds to remain hidden, although if the news did this battle any justice he doubted the city's eyes would be drawn upwards.

As high as he was, he noticed his view of the streets was limited, he could only see the ground between the buildings nearest as he passed the first row of raised business buildings. He thought he would have to do some scoping in order to find Frost until he noticed the low-hanging clouds enveloping the smaller buildings on opposite Hiccups' position. Looking closely, they seemed not to drift from the sky, but to rise from the earth, slowly swallowing the surrounding structures as it moved toward the center of town.

 _Target spotted_ , he thought triumphantly. His wings slowed his approach and he circled in the dark cover of the clouds around him as he observed the fight below. His small victory of reaching the battle sputtered and died when he got a good view of what was happening in the streets.

It almost looked like a portion of the dark clouds surrounding him had separated from the sky and descended to wreak havoc on the ground below, stretching tendrils to slink along the windows of the buildings and attempt to wrap around them. The structures already inside the cloud weren't even visible, the formation was so dark. Hiccup began to think that the shadow mass's intention was only to grow and swallow the town whole until several of the fingers of dark slipped behind where Frost stood on the ground, sending blue streaks of ice at the thick obscurity over and over again. They looked to be trying to surround and overcome him like they had with the buildings hidden inside the cloud. He watched Frost attempt to freeze portions of the shadow in vain, as the shadow was far too big and only pushed him back further.

From the shadowy mass rose a huge tentacle-like formation, rising up past the roofs of the business buildings surrounding it before sailing downward too fast for Frost to fly out of the way. The white hair was lost in the dark as it crashed down on top of him, only reappearing once the body of darkness had lifted away from his unmoving figure, now lying on the pavement of the street. Hiccup was finally near enough to strike. His wings broadened then pinned themselves to his sides as he positioned his body into a dive, the push of his wings against the air sending him sailing downward, leveling out above the mass of black.

As Hiccup dived, the air from his lungs leapt into his throat and he let loose a piercing scream so loud it shattered the nearest windows of the buildings pressing them in. He waited until he was sailing directly over the cloud before his mind screamed the command _FIRE!_ and his hands obeyed, joining together to form a blast of purple-white flame so powerful it whistled when he sent it through the air. The moment it impacted with the shadow-cloud a ripple of white heat that burst out in a visible halo.

His blast seemed to make a deep dent in the shapeless smog and he soared back upwards, making what felt like an impressive arc in the air to fly back to Frost. Realizing he had never consciously landed before, he opened his wings and flapped aggressively to slow himself down, much too late. As soon as his feet touched the asphalt his momentum was thrown off and he was ripped from the sky to skid across the ground.

He came to a stop not far from where Frost was weakly standing, "Nice landing, dragon-boy. Didn't expect to see you here; I wouldn't have thought you liked parties," Hiccup found it amazing how the boy was still able to be so snarky after getting smashed into the pavement.

"Shut up, I'm here to save you," Hiccup groaned, pushing himself off the ground. Frost staggered to his side and grabbed his arm to tug him up before he could pull away. Once standing, Hiccup tried to assess his scales for damage but found none save for a deep abrasion across the uncovered skin his face, starting from the cheek and moving up to the side of his forehead; he could feel the sting of the stretch and the hotness of the scrape when he raised his fingers to it. Thankful for the armor his scales provided him with, Hiccup recovered quickly and knew that that tumble would have been so much worse if not for the protection.

Turning back around to face the advancing storm, Frost and Hiccup spread to opposite ends of the street in an attempt to somehow flank the giant adversary, their attacks alternating back and forth. Hiccup was surprised by the uncommunicated coordination they possessed, one would strike while the other would reposition. White-blue Ice from one end and white-purple fire from the other.

He also soon discovered that the could only shoot six strong blasts at a time, his joined hands emitting nothing but a tired stream of purple smoke once he had shot the last from the ground, Frost covering for him while he shook out his arms. Panic reared its ugly head as he tried twice more to use summon another blast, but to no avail. Hoping that he could still defend himself, he spread his hands and willed his fire to leave him. He almost cried out in relief when it did, in a steady stream of white surrounded in a deep purple haze.

Eventually, they were able to gain some ground against the darkness, pushing it steadily back at first then forcing it in on itself, desperately trying to maintain its hold on the architecture it had claimed. Its size lessened and Hiccup took to the air to push it down further, Frost moving in towards the center of the street to better cover the ground in his absence. The stain almost seemed to scream as it was pummeled down, only big enough to cover a few city blocks now, and Hiccup paused his assault when he saw Frost halt, doing his best to hold his position in the air. Frost's face raised to search for him in the sky, and Hiccup cautiously began his ascent, simultaneously watching the now stilling obscurity and the ground below him.

He opened his wide wings to buffer himself a dozen yards from the pavement, landing hard on his feet, his knees groaning in protest. Although the landing was much better than the last, he misjudged his wingspan, for Frost had to duck out of the way to avoid being hit by the wide airfoils. He struggled when he straightened and tucked his wings to his side, moving to where Frost stood, barefoot and staring into the murk before them.

"What is it?" he grunted, "what's wrong?"

Frost shook his head, not looking away and Hiccup was about to ask him again when he heard the noise that must have distracted the sprite: A slow, hollow clap that emitted from inside the darkness, which began to shift from the center outward, seeming to travel closer along with the sound until a man strode easily forward from the dark that parted for him, his posture so high that importance and authority seemed to seep from his dark skin. His hands clapped together while he moved, his face expressing a sick sort of amusement.

"Impressive," his voice flowed smooth and deep as he strode forward, dark tendrils lapping at his feet like a loyal pet, "this was fun, don't you think, Jack?"

Frost bristled beside him, but remained silent as the man continued, "And you, young man," his gaze shifted to Hiccup, who felt himself shrink under his eyes, feeling the same sort of powerless experienced when one knows that they're not the only one who knows their darkest secrets anymore, "I must say I'm disappointed. I was hoping, after seeing the little _spat_ you two had the other night, that I would have gained a new ally tonight. But I guess I was wrong."

"This is my town, Pitch," Frost spat, grip tightening on his staff so tight a thin white vapor fell from the glowing runs in the wood. This 'Pitch' narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing them both for a moment before his lips curled upwards.

"For now," he purred and turned away, practically floating diagonally across the shadowy street for a drain leading to the sewer main. Although his back was turned, Hiccup still felt on edge, as if waiting for this man to snap his fingers and send the darkness that seemed to follow him screaming back to them to finish them off. He stopped once his feet landed on the drain, "Until next time, gentlemen,"

And the mass of black swirled into a tornado so strong Hiccup felt himself being shoved to the side by the force of the wind it created. He prepared to lift back into the air when he noticed it shrinking in on itself, the tail forcing its' way through the grate at its master's feet until it disappeared, taking Pitch with it. Hiccup tried not to gape at the sight, noticing the grate of the drain still fully intact despite the impossible tornado that just shoved itself past it along with, Hiccup could only assume from Pitch's sudden absence, a fully grown man with it. A pressing silence ensued as both young men stood frozen, half expecting another attack. Eventually, Frost broke the silence, so suddenly Hiccup jumped and scowled.

"I guess fire and ice make a pretty good team," Frost said, moving closer while not taking his eyes from the sewer drain. Hiccup raised his ski mask, unable to tell if he meant it casually or if he was implying something, but before he could ask, the white haired boy was looking at him with such gratefulness and sincerity that he no longer cared to, "I owe you one."

"Don't mention it," he was about to leave it at that when a condition came to him, "Just stop freezing the roadways."

Frost let loose a laugh that morphed into a wheeze in one breath, reminding them both how beat they were, despite the apparent outcome of the battle, "Aw, come on, dragon-boy, I was just having a little fun!"

"Your brand of fun is dangerous," Hiccup scolded dryly. Frost grinned and opened his mouth, but before he could utter a word a flash of white light that reflected brightly off the shattered remains of the windows that surrounded them and they both whirled around to face the source of the light, then immediately back around to hide their faces when they realized a mess of news reporters were beginning to approach and the wail of police sirens sounded like they weren't too far behind. Hiccup tugged his ski mask back down to cover his face as Frost was carried into the air by his winds. Grimacing over the aching in his knees, he turned to face home and opened his wide wings, kicking up and rising into the night sky.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Upon returning home, Hiccup and Toothless's joined form split moments after touching back down on the parched lawn. Toothless stumbled a little before regaining his feet and padding tiredly to the front door to scratch at the screen. Hiccup was not so graceful. His feet didn't quite want to catch him as he staggered around, finally losing his balance after a moment of dancing and slammed into the door of his car, still parked several yards away from it's designated spot outside the garage.

Fumbling for the door, he reached in and retrieved his phone from his old messenger back in the back seat and his keys from the ignition, hoping the car hadn't died. He locked the car up before turning to lumber up to the house, leaving the car where it was. It took him ages to reach the front door, Toothless had begun to whine and pace impatiently when he finally turned the handle, this time grateful it was unlocked. Dog and boy both trotted into the kitchen on their tired feet to feast before they slept for days.

Hiccup decided that it would be alright for Toothless to have the expired ground beef from the very back of the fridge once he had finished three bowls of his food, completely emptying his food bag and still whining in hunger. It would just be this once… as well as tomorrow morning. He wouldn't have time to run to the store and back the next morning before work. The dog had no complaints, happily licking up the beef before collapsing at Hiccup's feet from where he sat at the kitchen island, eating a giant bowl of cereal once he had finished two leftover subs, the questionably-close-to-its-expiration-date carton of macaroni and cheese sitting in a queue to be eaten next beside a semi-thawed personal pizza.

Hiccup pulled his phone from where he had haphazardly tossed it and his keys on his way to the fridge, wincing when the notifications revealed that he had three new voicemails. He hated getting phone calls, especially from numbers he didn't recognize. He compared typing in his password and holding the phone to his ear to pulling teeth in his exhausted state, but hearing Astrid's aggravated voice on the recording made it worse. He had completely forgotten that he was supposed to call her. And although now felt like the worst possible time, he knew it would only get worse for him the longer he waited. Pulling up his missed calls menu, he tapped the first number repeated three times and held his breath.

"Hey," Astrid's voice sounded a lot less annoyed than it did in the one message that he listened to out of the three.

"Hey," he responded, glad that his voice didn't sound quite as wiped as he felt, "wasn't _I_ the one who was supposed to call _you_? How did you even get my numb-oh, wait, stupid question; Gobber. Of course."

"He's no fool, that's for sure. I'm kinda surprised you actually called after those messages I sent you," her tone was frightfully unreadable, Hiccup not knowing if her calmness was good or bad.

"Yeah, I, uh… only got around to listening to one of them,"

"Really? I left them like three hours ago,"

"I was a bit… hung up for a while."

"Speaking of hung up, have you seen the news?" she asked, and now he was able to place her tone: apprehension.

"Yeah," he lied. He didn't have to watch the news to know what she was talking about.

"It all looks so crazy, like something out of some kind of fantasy movie," she sounded so distracted Hiccup hoped for a moment she would be gentle with him about what happened at the diner. He switched the call to speaker and set the phone down to focus on his makeshift meal.

"Yeah, something like that," he could hear the muffled feedback of the news over the line, knowing she must be watching whatever updates the news stations had scrambled to put forth.

"The guy who could control that black sand stuff has been identified as Pitch Black, but they're not releasing any more information about him, it's like the name is all anybody knows,"

 _That's not too far off._ Hiccup thought, listening half-heartedly to her ramble as he ate.

"The ice-man is just being called Jack Frost, and apparently before tonight he's been seen all around Burgess, causing havoc with his icy powers or whatever,"

That didn't surprise Hiccup at all, although it wasn't just Burgess he had been terrorizing lately. He had to admit, though, that he almost liked fighting by Frost's side. He wasn't sure if that made him a terrible person for almost enjoying the fight, or a relatively good one for being able to set aside their many, many differences to come to the sprite's aid.

"The dragon-guy, though, all they've got on him is that he's been dubbed as the 'Night Fury.' Nobody had any recorded sighting of him before last night. The mask and cleats he wore were pretty lame, but the news had an audio recording of the cry he made before touching down-did you hear it?"

"You bet," he answered, swallowing a much-too-large bite of cereal.

"Oh, man, it gave me chills!" she gushed, and Hiccup felt himself blush for whatever reason. Apparently, that was the end of that subject, because her tone changed from excited and nervous to accusatory so fast it made his head spin, "So… what exactly happened today? At the diner?"

Hiccup choked on the cereal milk he was funneling into his mouth. Toothless looked up at him from the floor, blinking his wide, concerned eyes at him while he hacked.

"Are you okay?" Astrid asked, and Hiccup nodded for some reason, although knowing he couldn't see it.

"F-fine, I just-" his throat betrayed him as he doubled over from the force of his coughs, spraying the countertop with white. Finally regaining his breath, he said with a painfully raw throat, "I'm sorry."

"For the diner or what sounded like you trying to hack up your lungs?"

"Both. I'm really sorry about what happened. I think I got food poisoning and I left my door unlocked and my TV on and Toothless had to be fed and-"

"Toothless?" she questioned.

"My dog. He's outside during the day and he holds a serious grudge if he's not fed on time."

"I thought you said he needed to be let in because of coyote activity," she said, and Hiccup bit his lip, trying to recover. Damn, she had a good memory.

"Yeah, That-that too…" he trailed off, wincing at the length of the silence that followed.

"So dog needed to be fed, food poisoning or door unlocked-which is it?"

Hiccup felt red rising to his cheeks. She was a damn good arguer too, "All of them…?" although only the food poisoning was the only total lie, he didn't sound very convincing, despite how he felt his ability to lie had improved greatly in the past few weeks. There was another long silence before Astrid sighed.

"Did I say something or do something that upset you?"

Hiccup found himself deeply confused: a moment ago she was calling him out on his lies with a lack of fear he had never witnessed before. There was no trace of the polite doubt people would show when they knew he was lying to them. He thought she would make a great interrogator. But now she sounded so disappointed and almost… ashamed? Hiccup, in all the years of knowing her, had never heard that in her voice before. If she had been anyone else he would have hung up on them; he would've theorized that they thought him fragile after losing his parents, which he found was a common belief among those that pitied him, and he would have enjoyed terminating the call.

But with Astrid… he didn't know quite what to make of it yet.

"No, no, no, you didn't do anything wrong, not at all," he rambled, tracing patterns across the surface of the island he sat at, "I genuinely had a really good time. I'm really glad I went with you, I just… had an emergency. I'd rather not talk about it right now."

 _Or ever_. He thought. _The less you know about this the safer you'll be._

"Do you wanna try again, then?" she asked, sounding so hopeful it was almost painful to hear. "You can tell me about it face to face if that's easier for you. Or you don't have to talk about it at all if you're not ready, we could just-"

"Astrid," he interrupted softly, saddened as he gently ran his socked foot over the curve of Toothless' furry back, "I'm sorry. I don't think that's a good idea."

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Hiccup slept through his alarm the next morning, only waking up when Toothless, still half asleep and annoyed with the ringing cell phone on the bedside table began barking tiredly from his bed on the floor for his boy to answer the phone. His arm stretched blindly out to paw at the screaming device and pull it back to his face, eyes still closed, "Hello?" he groaned, voice hoarse.

"You comin' to work, lad?" Gobber's annoyed voice asked over the line, Hiccup finally peeling his eyes open, one eyelid still stubbornly sticking together for a moment. Upon seeing the light streaming in through the windows, he shot up, body screaming in protest as he forced it to move off the bed and down the stairs. He poured a bowl of food for Toothless before leaving, keeping the main door open and the screen door unlocked so the dog could go outside after his breakfast. It may not have been the best idea, but after Hiccup had made it all the way out to his car before realizing he didn't have his keys, he didn't really care if anyone broke in.

Once he finally stumbled into the shop from the back door, he found Gobber waiting in the doorway of the workroom next to the garage for him, "Ah, though' I heard your car-wha' the-wha' happened to you?"

It took Hiccup a moment to realize what he was talking about, before he caught on, "Oh, I was running around with Toothless and he got under my feet. I smashed my face on the pavement of the driveway," he wasn't sure if he was impressed or shocked by how natural the lie had flowed out. He had always been a pretty bad liar, but Gobber seemed to be having a hard time believing it only because it was too big a road rash to have been caused by tripping and falling onto the driveway. But he must not have been able to think of any other probable cause to call Hiccup out on, because he shook his head solemnly and turned.

"Follow me," he lumbered back up the stairs at the far end of the room that lead back up to his apartment. Hiccup took so long to climb the stairs that Gobber had already sat down on the couch next to his brown bulldog who sat on the middle cushion with his belly brandished.

"Hey, Grump," Hiccup muttered, sitting down on the empty cushion and pulling Grump's upside down head onto his lap. Gobber intently watched a news reporter gab on about the fight in Burgess the night before-this must have been what his mentor had brought him upstairs for. Hiccup focused on his mentor's dog, finding that just watching the recordings of the battle made him tired. After a few minutes of recapping the battle, some new information came across the screen that caught Hiccup's attention.

"...It's been found that the Night Fury's blasts indeed emit some nuclear energy. We are being told that the site of the battle is currently being tested for harmful radiation and if a significant amount is found, then the entire downtown area will have to be shut down until further notice, but there is no solid estimate of how long that may be.

"The streets of the downtown area are covered not only by shattered glass but also a dark substance, samples of which were sent by law enforcement to several different universities to be studied. Every lab that has tested the samples have claimed that the substance is sand," the screen had been showing footage of the damage left by the battle downtown before switching to a recording of a tiny cloud of the supposed sand inside some kind of sealed glass jar on a countertop, the dark specimen whirling around like a tornado inside the jar before little tendrils shot out and attempted to penetrate the little prison, "While the sand was being tested, it reportedly moved on its own, even while being put in an airtight glass confinement. Some researchers are saying there is a possibility, based on the behavior of this sand, that it may be sentient."

"It's craziness ou' there, I'm sure you heard about tha' battle last night in Burgess," Gobber said, absently scratching Grump's belly, whose head rested upside down on Hiccup's lap. He nodded and played with the old bulldogs' ears, not meeting the eyes of his mentor. Grump's tongue lolled out to attempt to catch Hiccup's wrist as he groaned happily at the attention, "I don't know wha' to make of it all. Flying men that make fire and ice and clouds of living sand… it's just too much…" he trailed off as the news began again on repeat, his brows deeply creased in what looked to be worry.

"He smells like ramen," Hiccup commented, nuzzling Grump's saggy face as the brown bulldog snuffled happily. If he understood the mild insult, he didn't care a lick.

"Eh?" Gobber uttered then laughed and ruffled Hiccup's hair roughly when he understood, rising from the couch and starting for the stairs.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Hiccup spent the next two workdays desperately trying to catch up on the commissions that had stacked up. Lately, he found it so easy to get distracted, but it wasn't like he didn't have a reason. He spent half of his time wondering where and when Pitch would strike next and the other time trying to prepare himself for said attack. While Gobber had no clue what was going on, he could tell that Hiccup needed help, and the two of them teamed up to work on their commissions to get caught up. The only thing that was hard about that was that Hiccup was rarely alone to work on the flight suit he had begun to design, and if an attack did occur it would be hard for him to slip out without looking suspicious.

Working with Gobber wasn't bad _,_ though, they could catch up on their projects much faster and they hadn't worked together on something since before Stoick's accident. Hiccup found he missed Gobber's company as well as their casual banter. Grump, who rarely came down from Gobber's apartment above had even wandered down to watch their progress for a few minutes before laying down across the foot of the stairs, barring all other possible entry.

"So, how was your date with Astrid?" Gobber asked suddenly, completely abandoning their former conversation regarding the dimensions of the sink they were supposed to weld into place in a kitchen. Hiccup really hated doing house calls but the owners of the house had made a very generous offer, luckily the sink was moderately small and not too fancy. An hour's worth of work at the most.

"It was NOT a date," Hiccup claimed, annoyed at this sudden change of subject. He knew Gobber had brought it up because he was ready for a break, but Hiccup wanted to get the job over with, "and it was great for the most part."

"'For the most part?' What does tha' mean?" his mentor asked. Hiccup sighed. He didn't know how to describe what went wrong, only that it was his fault.

"I don't really want to talk about it," knowing that that wouldn't be taken as an answer, Hiccup sighed again, "I chickened out. We would go there all the time when we were younger and it was always _so_ much fun. I had such a great time with her, I really did. But I used to go there with my parents and then I lost my mom. Then my dad would take us there and now I've lost him too and I just… I've lost everyone I used to go to that diner with now and I guess I just don't wanna lose her too." it wasn't entirely a lie. In fact, that seemed to be more truthful than anything he had said to Gobber since he told him about the fight he had gotten into weeks back.

Gobber was silent for a moment before he clapped a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, "I know it's been hard for you, lad. It's been hard on everyone. But you didn't lose your parents just because you enjoyed spending time with them at tha' old diner. And you won't lose Astrid because you're enjoying _her_ company there, either. The only way you could lose her is if you're so scared of losing her you end up pushing her away."

That was the best advice he'd been given in a very long time. But Astrid's safety was on the line and Hiccup would much rather risk their newly regained friendship than her life. Gobber didn't have to know that, however, so Hiccup decided to leave it at that.

The chime of the automated door saved him from having to say anything else and he stood, moving for the hall, "I'll get it," he called over his shoulder.

"Welcome to the Forge, how can I help-" his practiced drone came to an abrupt halt when he saw who stood in the tiny lobby. There was a familiarity in the shape of the young man's jaw and the style of his chocolate brown hair. While the shape of his eyes they were a deep brown that rivaled his hair and a warm tone to his skin. Hiccup's mind was racing to find a name to match this familiar face, but the only one he could think of had ice blue eyes and pale skin.

"Before you ask, no I don't have a twin brother," he smirked, and Hiccup definitely knew that deep, snarky voice.

" _Fro-_ "

"Shh!" he scolded, looking serious for the second time in however long Hiccup had known him, "it's _Jack_. Jackson Overland. Nice to meet you…"

"Hiccup," he provided, finding it very hard to sound casual when the sprite he had fought alongside two nights before stood in the lobby of the workshop wearing blue jeans and a grey t-shirt over a dark button-down with no staff in sight. Hiccup was almost tempted to lean over the front desk to see if he was wearing shoes. Instead, he checked over his shoulder to ensure Gobber wasn't lumbering his way down the hall, "what're you doing here? And how are you… like that?"

Frost- _Jack_ handed him a yellowing piece of paper that looked like it was torn from a moderately old book.

"What's this?" Hiccup asked, warily taking it and squinting at the scrawl printed across it.

"My number," he answered simply. When looked up at him quizzically, he shrugged, "I said I owed you one."

"This is your favor after I saved your sorry ass?"

"Hiccup, please mind your language," Jack said, feigning shock through the grin on his face, "that's not all, though. The black sand he controls is called nightmare sand."

"Nightmare sand?"

"Yep. Does exactly what the name suggests: gives you nightmares while you sleep, that gives them power. Those you don't have to worry about as much at first, because it only takes a little to give you bad dreams, but they grow larger and more powerful each night they feed on you. It's when they get into groups that you have a problem. Just watch out," he warned, and Hiccup felt he had nothing besides a 'thank you' for him.

"Just so you're aware," the now brown-haired sprite continued, "I think Pitch can only watch you at night, as far as I've been able to tell. So hopefully he won't know about us meeting up here," Jack advised, "but you might wanna be careful about what you do and who you hang around with at night. The less he knows about your life and who you love the better."

It made sense: Hiccup had first 'met' Jack just before dark, and if Pitch had been trailing the sprite then he had seen the first time Hiccup and Toothless had melded. His nightmares could have easily followed him home after the fight.

His nightmares covering Hiccup's house and turning on his TV to the news broadcast of the fight must have been him calling Hiccup out. He must have wanted to see if Hiccup would join him against the sprite or take arms against him.

As he began to mull it over, he found that it didn't seem like it would be too difficult to defend his personal life from Pitch. He would just have to be out of the shop before dark to keep Gobber from the situation, that would be relatively easy. And Astrid… well, he had already gone out to eat with Astrid after dark, and he had had a _really_ good time with her. It wouldn't be hard at all for Pitch to determine that she mattered to him.

"Jack," he called urgently, the brown haired boy whirling back around to face him. Hiccup rushed to his side, not wanting to run the risk of Gobber overhearing them, "let's say that Pitch has already seen me with someone I care about. What can I do to keep her safe?"

"Oh, so there's a her, is there?" he teased, but nodded when Hiccup scowled, "Yeah, I know this is serious, I'm sorry. You keep her close. That's about the best you can do. Don't ever hesitate to call for help if you really need it."

He put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder before turning away and exiting the shop.

Hiccup retreated to his workroom where he fished his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Astrid's number, hoping he wasn't bothering her while she was at work. She picked up after three rings and Hiccup's newfound worry that she wouldn't answer at all.

"Hey," she answered, and Hiccup couldn't tell whether she sounded distracted or annoyed.

"Hey. Does your offer to hangout still stand? Or have I chased you away yet?"

He heard a gentle laugh from the other end before she answered, "Never. Firepit Diner still good?"

Relief swept over him as he nodded now caring if she couldn't see it, "Definitely. But let's meet for an early lunch on Saturday, okay? You get weekends off, right?"

"Yeah, that'll work for me-I've gotta go, my lunch break is almost over-"

"Wait, I'm sorry, there's one more thing I have to ask you," he pushed away the feeling that it would be a bad idea and asked, "you did kickboxing after school a for a few years, right?"

"Yeah," she responded, sounding uncertain, "why?"

"Do you still fight?"

"Not in kickboxing as much as krav maga, but yeah, when I can. Could you tell me where you're going with this?"

"Could you give me some pointers?" Hiccup bit his lip at the silence that met his request. It stretched so long he almost took it back and told her to forget it when she finally responded.

"I'll be over there when my shift is over."

Smiling, he hung up and dropped his phone back into his old shoulder bag before returning to assist Gobber.


	6. Everything is Just Fantastic

Hey all! I'm so sorry for the long wait. I know all of you lovely readers must just love it when authors of the stories they follow don't have the best mental health and it interferes with their ability to put out chapters consistently, but… I'm not too different; my mental health isn't the best right now. I have my very first therapy appointment on Tuesday…. Yay. I can't say for sure if the next few chapters will come out soon or not, but I hope to put out one chapter at least once a week, but no promises.

ALSO: I apologize for any confusion caused by me combining the former chapter six and chapter five, I had to remove it to keep to my twenty-chapter limit.

AND: also I love ya'll and bless ya for reading, following, faving, etc!

Chapter Six

Hiccup wheezed as he slowly pistoned his arms against the punching bag-he swore he could hear Astrid trying not to laugh behind him over his pained breaths.

"Good," she said, a definite laugh in her voice, "now kick," he complied, leg lifting to knock his shin against the bag, which jolted in protest, "now plank!"

His breath left him in exhausted pants as he dropped to the floor and kicked his legs out behind him, shaking arms stretched to hold him above the concrete of the shop's garage although he so wanted to just sink to the cool round. His throat was raw when he took his next breath and pushed himself weakly back to a stand. He staggered on his feet but brought his fists back up to guard on his next punch. Hiccup was rearing back to strike when the alarm on Astrid's phone went off.

"And that's twenty minutes. Good job," Hiccup almost collapsed in relief as she stepped toward him. She stretched her arms over her head and nodded to him, "Deep breath," she instructed. He complied and mirrored her actions as she lowered herself to one knee and again raised her hands, taking another deep breath before shifting her hips back to straighten her outstretched leg. He followed her through the stretch and repeated with the other leg before they stood and took another deep breath, "you're getting a lot better," she told him earnestly.

"I'd better be," he responded, voice beyond hoarse from his heavy breathing. She turned around and picked his water bottle up from beside her phone on the hood of the closest car. He caught it mid air when she tossed it his way, surprising himself by his sudden ability to actually _catch_ things and not fumble instead.

"Sorry I didn't work out with you this time," Astrid said from across the room, "I haven't been feeling my best lately."  
"Oh?" he asked between drinks of water.

"Yeah, it's been hard for me to sleep lately. I'm on calcium channel blockers for migraines and they've been giving me nightmares-" she jumped at the loud, harsh coughing fit that erupted from Hiccup's throat as he choked on his water.

"Night-mares?" he rasped between coughs, face turning red.

She moved toward him, "Are you okay?"

He nodded rapidly, "I'm-good," he took a deep breath and tried to appear like he wasn't slightly dizzy, "You said nightmares?"

"Uh, yeah," she replied, not looking convinced by his assurance, "The past few nights, actually. It's a normal side effect, though, so… don't worry," she added, eying him in his open-mouthed state. If it was possible, he was sweating now more than he had been before.

"I-I'm not worried. Why would you think I'm worried?" he almost cringed at the rambling lie. Clearing his throat, he then had an idea, "hey, uh, I'm starving, d'you wanna go over to the Firepit Diner again? I'll pay,"

To her credit, she seemed to try not to look confused by his sudden change of subject, "Are you sure you wouldn't be more comfortable just going on Saturday, like we planned? I mean you're… kinda sweaty."

'Kinda' was a kind understatement. He was thankful he had bashfully taken off his tee shirt after the warm ups, for even jogging in place for a few minutes made him breathe heavily, for his skin seemed to glisten slightly in the fluorescent light of the garage, even with the breeze floating in through the open garage door.

"Nah, it'll be fine. Just let me run to the bathroom real quick to clean up just a little and we'll be good to go," his rambling had well overstayed its welcome and Astrid raised her brow, not looking the least bit convinced, but thankfully she decided against calling him out on it.

"Okay, then. I'll drive myself this time," she called to him as he headed for the restroom, the back of his head hiding her view of his wince as he remembered how the last time they had gone to the diner had not exactly ended well, and he suddenly wished Toothless was with him. That wish gained strength when he noticed the color of the sky through the little rectangular window on the wall in the bathroom. The blue was just beginning to fade and the orange and pink of the clouds were slinking into view. He quickly wet a paper towel and awkwardly dabbed at his sweaty skin until there was little trace of his fight with the punching bag in the other room. He left in search of his tee and plaid overshirt and called a goodbye to Gobber as he walked through the hall.

Astrid was gone when he re-entered the garage, and hearing her motorcycle engine begin to rev up he tugged his shirt over his head and picked up his messenger bag. He forgo pulling on his overshirt for the moment, picking it up off the hood on the car Astrid had left her stuff on-she must have picked it up and set it there, because he was pretty sure he had just left it on the floor. Closing the garage door behind him, he jogged to his car as Astrid zipped out of the lot.

He tailed her the whole way to the diner, nearly running a red light on his way. He couldn't tell because he couldn't see her face, but he wouldn't have been surprised if she was trying to lose him for the fun of it. He tried and failed to let the small smirk slip across his lips.

At the pace Astrid set, they arrived at the diner sooner than expected, the lot thankfully only half-full when they pulled in. Astrid chose a spot in the middle of a pond of empty parking spaces, Hiccup pulling up on her right side and rolling down the window.

"Was there a race I was unaware of?" he asked, mockingly accusatory.

"Nah, we weren't racing," she said, pulling off her helmet. He didn't miss her smile nor how she refused to meet his eyes, "I won though,"

He bit his lip to keep from laughing but allowed his smile to show through while he stepped out of the vehicle and locked it, pocketing his keys, "This time,"

She didn't bother hiding her laugh as she strapped her helmet to the handlebars of her bike then turned to head into the diner, Hiccup at her heels.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

"You've made a lot of progress over the past few days," Astrid commented as they sat down at the booth, across the room from where their waitress had seated them last time, "I have to say, I'm impressed."

"I'm sorry, what'd you say?" Hiccup leaned forward and cupped his hand to his ear. She scoffed and shoved his shoulder away from her.

"I said I'm impressed, you don't have to be annoying about it," she rolled her eyes and turned away, but he was positive he hadn't imagined the smile behind the rolling blue orbs.

Hiccup laughed and crossed his arms, smug smile sitting satisfied on his face, "Sorry, it's just been so long since you've complimented me I forgot you were capable," he had only meant to tease her about her newly-found trainer's ego, but it became clear to him that she had taken it another way when he saw the gleam of the smile in her eyes he had noticed moments ago fade and her gaze fell to the booth's surface.

She chewed her lip for a moment before speaking, still not meeting his eyes, "Hiccup, I kinda feel like I need to explain myself to you,"

His smirk fell and he sat forward, "What do you mean?"

"I've been thinking a lot about us lately," he raised a brow at her, but her eyes were still locked on the laminate table, "about how close we were when we were younger, and how one day we just… weren't anymore."  
This time he frowned, remembering it a little differently, but he let her continue, "I feel like it was my fault we stopped being friends. I got involved with too much at school: Honor Society, student council, speech and debate, volleyball then cross country and mock trial, I even tried my hand a cheerleading for a few semesters," he listened to her accomplishments with slightly burning ears; he didn't even know she did half the things she listed. He had been in the Honor Society, too, but he had really only stayed in it because of how his father had beamed when he heard. He had attempted after-school activities, but had never really stayed with anything for very long.

"I had to work really hard to keep up with it all," she continued, tracing invisible patterns on the booth with her fingers, "and at first, I tried to keep up with my older friends, but eventually I didn't even have much time for the friends I had made in the activities."

"Oh. Wow, that sounds kinda rough," Hiccup said slowly, resisting the burning urge to scratch the back of his neck, a nervous habit of his.

"It was, but that's not the only reason I ditched you," her eyes slowly raised to meet his and his eyebrows arched when he recognized the guilt and even- _embarrassment_ in them, "I was exhausted and vulnerable and desperate to keep up with it all, so when my new friends started telling me who I should and shouldn't have hung out with I didn't really try to argue. I _let_ them convince me to push you away, which was something I never should have done. It wasn't fair; you were my first and oldest friend. I'm so sorry, Hiccup. I was awful to you."

Hiccup's mouth hung lamely open for a moment after she had finished. He wasn't exactly expecting an explanation _that_ deep from her. He had been confused and deeply hurt when she had pushed him away, and back then he had expected an explanation, but after a year or so of her giving him the cold shoulder, he had learned to accept that she wasn't going to explain or apologize.

"Astrid, I'm not going to lie, I was angry with you for a long time, for a while I even thought I hated you," he paused for just long enough for her to cut in.

"So what changed?"

"Sixto Rodriguez," at her puzzled stare, he smiled and recited one of his favorite quotes, "'Hate is too strong of an emotion to waste on someone you don't like.' Astrid, I accepted your apology a long time ago, even if you had never given it to me."

She didn't respond, only gazed at him biting her lip. She reached over and placed her hand over his resting on the table.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Hiccup found her company just as enjoyable as he had the last time. The end of the evening was only slightly better than their last-although the food was significantly less good-at the diner, because he had no impending sense of doom, but it still didn't end very well. In his defence, he didn't believe it was entirely his fault this time.

They had been laughing about a story Hiccup was telling about why he hated doing house calls so much when he had reached for a napkin and bumped his side on the edge of the booth. Immediately drawing back he sucked in a breath through his teeth, feeling the bruise on his side burn at the sudden contact.

"I just wanna make sure that you know that I'm only helping you out for the purpose of self-defence," Astrid said after a moment, not meeting his questioning eyes, "not so you can go around picking fights."

"What do you mean?" trying to resist the urge to rub the ache from his side. Astrid looked up now, looking… unamused? Disappointed? One of those.

"It wasn't hard for me to notice the bruises when you were shirtless, Hiccup." he felt his cheeks heat up at her statement He didn't even consider the bruises before. He was only reminded of them when he patted them down with the wet towel in the bathroom earlier and he had observed them in the mirror.

"Left over from the fight with those losers in the parking lot. I told you about that, remember? When Snotlout was drunk?"

Her brows angled into a deep frown, "That was weeks ago, Hiccup. These were fresh,"

"I don't know what to tell you, Astrid! I'm a clumsy guy and I work in a metalsmith. There's a lot that can go wrong every day and I don't always remember every little scrape and bruise I get!" he didn't notice the volume of his voice, but it must have been rather high, for Astrid lowered hers to scold him.

"That's _bullshit_ and you know it! Do you really expect me to believe that?" she hissed. He sighed.

"Astrid, believe it or don't, that's what happened."

She huffed and tried to level him with a stare, but after she gathered that he wasn't going to budge, she sighed and stood from the booth so fast her hips knocked into the edge and her hands shot out to steady herself, their water glasses nearly tipping. She fished out her wallet from her bag and dropped a ten and a five onto the surface of the booth; more than enough to cover her half of their bill. She was gone before he could object, leaving half the restaurant staring at him. He sighed heavily, slumping down in his seat and letting his head fall back to knock hard against the top of the padded booth seat.

 _I really have chased her away this time,_ he thought as he heard the rumble of her motorcycle's engine zip away.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Astrid didn't show the next day after his shift for a lesson. While Hiccup was disappointed, he wasn't really surprised. Once he had gotten home from the diner he had tried to call her, but got her voicemail instead. He decided to workout without her, and repeated what he could remember from his previous lessons. He was sure there was a ton of the exercises he was forgetting, but he still found the workout challenging.

While he worked his aching arms on the bouncing punching bag, his mind wandered away to find the steadily growing pile of letters demanding he make his house payments. His father had dutifully taken care of the house and bills, but now that he was gone the responsibility had fallen to Hiccup, who had been out of work for well over a month. He could ask Gobber to teach him _how_ to pay the bills, but he refused to ask Gobber to help him _pay_ the bills. Pondering the predicament between punches, it became clear to Hiccup that he would need to get more money coming in if he wanted to keep the house he grew up in.

Fortunately, the solution to his problem presented itself within the next few silent days of training on his own in the strangest form: Jack Frost.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Hiccup pulled his sketchbook from his messenger bag and sat on his bed, freshly showered with design ideas swimming through his mind. Hiccup had been thinking for days that his ski mask, while sufficient for shielding himself from the media, wasn't very practical for fighting nightmares made from magic black sand. His hand had just began to whisk across the paper when his phone suddenly came to life from his bedside table and flung Hiccup's hand off the page, smearing graphite across it. Toothless huffed from his bed across the room in annoyance that rivaled Hiccup's own as he reached for the ringing object. Part of him dared to hope it was Astrid finally calling him back, but was disappointed when an unfamiliar number slid across the screen. Swiping his thumb to the right, he moved the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hiccup," a male's voice uttered on the other line. Hiccup pulled the phone back to check the number again, but as best he could tell it didn't belong to anyone in his contacts.

"Hello, who is this?"  
"Aw, c'mon, Night Fury, are you telling me you don't recognize my voice?"

He did now, "Jack? How did you get this number?" Hiccup was sure he hadn't written it down for the sprite when he had gifted Hiccup with his digits.

"Turns out there aren't very many 'Hiccups' on facebook," Hiccup could hear the shit-eating grin in his voice.

"What's going on?"

"I need your help," Jack's voice shifted in an instant to something almost urgent and Hiccup rose from his bed. Toothless must have sensed his sudden apprehension and echoed his movements to the bedroom door and down the stairs, the half-finished mask designs abandoned.

"Where are you?" he asked, pulling on his cleats and retrieving his ski mask from the floor of the hallway where he had abandoned them the last time he had melded with Toothless and hadn't bothered to pick them back up.

"Turn on the news and I'm sure you'll find out," Jack's voice was more hushed and distracted than before as he urged, "I gotta go, just-get here!"

Hiccup heaved a sigh and raced into the living room, eyes searching for the remote for only a moment before giving up and flipping the screen on manually, clicking the channel button until he reached a _breaking news_ screen. Backing up just enough to observe the entire picture, Hiccup blanched at the live footage it showed him, Toothless whining beside him.

A massive shadow, light occasionally pulsing along its surface almost completely shrouded a particularly large office building in downtown Burgess. Black tendrils were bursting into the windows of the small portion of the yet unconquered structure, swallowing any light that came from within. Hiccup tore his eyes away to scan the bar sliding across the bottom of the screen: _Second Attack in Burgess, Estimated 43 Office-Workers Trapped._ He sucked in a breath, backing out of the room and moving toward the front door, Toothless pushing past him so quickly his knee buckled. They melded as soon as they reached the grass outside the house and once the ski cap was pulled over his head, the Night Fury kicking into the sky.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

"The skid marks on your face are healing up nicely." the hushed, snarky voice nearly made Hiccup jump out of his skin, whirling around until he spotted the white hair against the darkness of the wall of the office building.

"You know-" Hiccup started.

"Okay, sorry! Just-come here!" Jack stepped from the shadows shrouding his frame and waved Hiccup toward him, extending his arm to push a door appearing out of the black of the wall and disappearing inside, "I can't get them all out by myself."

Hiccup followed him into the windowless room, nearly tripping over a pair of legs as he entered, "There are four of them," Jack informed him from beside the hunched-over form of a balding man in a business-casual suit.

"I can see them," Hiccup responded, moving to place a hand on the shoulder of a shaking middle-aged woman, "it's gonna be alright, ma'am. We're gonna get you all out of here."

"You can see them?" Jack questioned, "How can you see them? It's pitch black in here-no pun intended."

Hiccup shot him an impatient look he wasn't sure Jack could see, "It's almost like… night vision? I see an outline of everybody at first, then it clears up and I can see them pretty clearly. Maybe it's heat vision, I don't know, this is brand new."

"You're just full of surprises, aren't ya, Night Fury?" Jack grinned, "And I swear I can _feel_ your scowl, Mr. Grumpy."

A crash o shattering glass from outside the room cut off Hiccup's retort and making the office workers cower deeply. Hiccup eyed the door for a moment, ensuring there was no movement before he turned back to Jack, speaking in a hushed voice, "There was an emergency exit by the window I came in through that the Nightmares hadn't covered it yet. We can send them down the stairs, covering them and gathering as many people as we can until we get to the main floor."

"Right. We can tell them to rendezvous in a conference room until we clear a path for them," Jack nodded, then addressed the workers, "You guys get all that?"

The woman beside Hiccup nodded and the others' breathing quickened, which the two took as confirmation enough. They assisted the workers standing in their shaking legs, Jack leading them cautiously out of the room into the empty floor, the only noise was the occasional spark of the failing lighting systems as Hiccup brought up the rear. The shadows all pooled at each of the windows, now including the one Hiccup had flown in through. They had the building completely surrounded now.

Keeping his eyes on the dark window nearest, Jack slowly pulled the door to the emergency exit open, ushering the workers past one by one into the stairwell. Hiccup kept watch on the other windows, wondering-but not complaining-that none of the Nightmares appeared to have any intention of moving.

"Okay, c'mon," Jack whispered from beside him before the young man turned into the staircase. Hiccup turned to follow but was jerked roughly back by a tendril of darkness that raked painfully across his abdomen to his side. He cried out at the pain and staggered around to face his attacker, the form of a horse standing mere feet away. It certainly hadn't been there a moment ago.

"RUN! Get to the next floor!" Jack called to the now panicked civilians and closed the fire escape door, leaping back to spread a coat of ice along the frame before running to Hiccup's side.

The pair flanked the Nightmare-just _one_ , no others had separated from the mass guarding the windows-as it backed toward the center of the vast room. Their eyes meeting for a single moment was the only call to attack the needed, Hiccup striking out with a single-handed blast of blue-white fire and Jack shooting a line of frost at the flanks of the sand-horse. It squealed before leaping forward to avoid the cold blast, Hiccup's shot hitting it hard in the shoulder and knocking it to one side, Jack scrambling away to avoid being trapped under it. It was trying to gain it's feet at soon as it hit the ground. Before Hiccup could make a move, Jack was somersaulting forward, kicking it once, twice in the head, black sand flying away from the impact of the pale bare feet and Hiccup couldn't help but admire the skillful twirls Jack had spun into between kicks.

The Nightmare screamed again and exploded into a cloud of thick smoke, slipping between its assaulters and leaping out the nearest shattered window to join the wall of darkness outside. The two braced themselves for another assailant to slink forward, but meeting none. They stood on guard and continued to wait-that couldn't have been the end of the fight. Compared to their first fight with Pitch's Nightmares that was _nothing_ and the sand hadn't retreated yet. After what felt like several eternities, Hiccup decided it would be safe to speak.

"What fighting style is that?" Hiccup asked quietly, making Jack jump a little.

"Capoeira," he answered simply, lowering his staff and relaxing his stance, assuming they had finished the fight.

"I just don't understand why the two of you can't just leave well enough alone," the deep, smooth voice echoed across the room, making the boys jump and face the supposed source of his voice, staff and talons ready although they couldn't really see him through the darkness.

"Stop going after people and _maybe_ we'll consider it," Jack bellowed across the dim floor. Despite his volume, he didn't sound quite as loud next to Hiccup as Pitch had, speaking from feet away in his relaxed, quiet tone.

"I'm afraid, gentlemen, that you brought this upon yourselves. I wouldn't have dreamed of harming anyone if you hadn't have been snooping in my territory, Jackson," Pitch purred, and Hiccup could feel the room get slightly colder as Jack bristled beside him.

" _What_ do you _want_ , Pitch?" Hiccup barked, simmering heat raised from his readied hands in the steadily dropping temperature.

"Oh, my request is simple. I only want to be left alone… for now," he added under his breath, Hiccup's brow furrowing at the ambiguous statement, "Now more spelunking in my sewers for you, young man," he nodded to the fuming Jack, "and I'll retreat."

They glanced at each other from the corners of their eyes, considering the request. The odd simplicity was undeniably ominous, and neither of the young men had been particularly good at predicting the actions of their adversary in the past. But with the remaining thirty-eight people still trapped in the building-which was entirely surrounded now-they couldn't really see any other option.

"Alright, Pitch. We'll… leave you alone. As long as you stick to your 'territory,'" Hiccup agreed, lowering his hands.

Pitch nodded to him and looked to Jack, who still gripped his staff in his white-knuckled hands, "And you, Jack?"

The sprite's jaw clenched and for a moment, Hiccup thought he was about to strike out at the man, but after a moment he uttered through clenched teeth, "Fine."

Pitch smirked, and immediately the wisps of darkness began to draw back, just as he had promised. He, too, began to retreat, still facing the pair before disappearing with his sand cloud, slipping back out the broken windows.

Only when all traces of the menacing darkness had evaporated did Jack lower his staff again.

"Do you think he'll stay true to his word?" Hiccup asked him.

"Why would he?" Jack spat back, still eyeing the windows as if the broken glass littering the floor would spring to life and gut them both. The two stood vigil, listening to the sirens of the police and ambulances grow louder. Only when a news copter hovered low enough to shine a spotlight on their position did the two split.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Had he been in his right mind after the fight, Hiccup would have gone directly home to feed himself and his dog before passing out, but Pitch and his Nightmares' actions had him thoroughly spooked and deeply concerned for someone he knew had been under his influence. So Hiccup found himself stubbornly pushing away his exhaustion and flying to the home of his childhood best friend.

Hiccup circled the house from high in the clouds a few times to scope the property for any sign of Nightmares before slowing to a hover, facing the tree in the corner of the yard which provided a clear view of the North and Eastern windows of Astrid's room. He angled his torso towards a middle bough and propelled himself carefully through the air, outstretching his arms to catch himself as quietly as he could, pulling himself to straddle the tree limb and backed himself against the tree's trunk, pulling off his ski mask.

All the windows in Astrid's house were black and lifeless, and Hiccup could only guess that it was really late, seeing as all the occupants of the building were already asleep. He could remember from the many sleepovers he had had at her house when they were elementary schoolers and aggravated phone calls from her in middle school that her Uncle Finn stayed up until the wee hours of the morning more often than not. Hiccup was really going to feel this tomorrow at work.

As he watched the dark house, he began to feel his stomach rumble, gently at first then so aggressively he began to worry it would give away his cover to any Nightmare that may be stalking his friend. He shifted and pressed his arm against his belly, trying to alleviate some of the pains his hunger was beginning to inspire but hissed at the sharp stab the contact sent up his side. He brought his hand up beneath the shirt he had been wearing when he melded with Toothless to gingerly feel at the armor-like scales covering his skin. He gasped quietly at the warm wetness the pads of his mostly-human fingers met and lifted his shirt to gaze at the gash at his side. It wasn't deep, by any means, more of a long swollen scrape open in the center that covered a good portion of his lower right quadrant.

 _Pitch's sand must be able to cut through my scales,_ Hiccup thought, rubbing the blood away between his fingers. All this time, he had thought his 'dragon scales' were completely impervious: the only place he was injured from his fall to the pavement during the last fight with Pitch was on his face-uncovered by the dark armor.

He huffed and let his shirt recover the cut. Yet another thing he would feel tomorrow. He crossed his arms-careful to avoid his wound and resumed his guard of Astrid's window. The longer Hiccup sat with no sign of a Nightmare, the more uneasy he felt-not so much about the potential for a Nightmare to show, but more because he felt as if he were spying on Astrid. No matter how ridiculous the notion was he found he couldn't really shake it. Even if Hiccup was spying-which he certainly was NOT, because actions that would imply spying would be performed solely for personal gain, and he was trying to protect his friend, no matter how mad she may be with him at this time-he wouldn't be able to see anything through her darkened windows.

Hiccup most likely would have continued to convince himself that his actions had good intent and were crossing lines for his friend's safety only until first light had he not spied movement along the East fence. A shapeless darkness seemed to slink across the edge of the yard. It could be a stray cat or something of the like, he had begun to reason before the shape began to morph and grow larger into something closer to the size of a great Dane, limbs stretching and thinning. The neck growing an elongated face that turned upwards to gaze at Astrid's window. That definitely wasn't cat-like. Much closer to a horse.

Hiccup steadily raised himself from his seat on the tree, ignoring the aches in his limbs. The shadow burst upwards from the ground and sprung to the sill of the window, hooves acting as claws that scraped at the base, gripping along the edge and supporting the Nightmare as its form began to evaporate into a smoke that slipped beneath the closed window. Hiccup's blood boiled and he unfolded his dark wings, catching the Nightmare's attention as he leapt from the tree and shot across the yard.

The distance between them was closed before the Nightmare could react and Hiccup barreled into it, grabbing onto the mostly solid form and pulling it from the window as he whisked past. The Nightmare screeched in his ear as it was pulled far from its food source and Hiccup dug his talons into the dark sand that made up the attacker, desperate to hold on. Swooping low as he reached the street between the houses, he summoned all the strength he could muster to hurl the Nightmare to the asphalt, watching with satisfaction as it skidded. It released a garbled impression of a whinny as it pushed itself to its spindly legs, snorting aggressively at him before turning and racing away, its legs blurring into a cloud of billowing sand.

Hiccup pursued, finding it relatively easy to match the Nightmare's speed as it whisked down the street, but as the corner approached he spotted the sewer grate too late. He swooped to grab the Nightmare again but found himself forced to backpedal midair as it burst out of the horse form and into a cloud of sand that retreated into the sewer.

He released a sound of frustration as he landed, pacing above the grate, trying to formulate a plan. There was no way he'd fit, and it really wouldn't be a good idea to go into Pitch's 'territory' at night, when he was strongest and when Hiccup had no backup. The Nightmare wasn't likely to come after Astrid that night, with how spooked he had made it. It may not come back for her for a few nights if he was lucky. But he couldn't be certain unless he captured it… or was able to keep Astrid closer.

Hiccup regretted the fight he had had with Astrid more than ever. He had chased her away with his lies just when he needed to be closest to her. A huff invaded his mind and his stomach growled, reminding him that he and his dog companion desperately needed to eat, and he seemed to find that the longer he stayed in his Night Fury form the harder the exhaustion and hunger pressed on him. Torn, he turned towards home, not for the first time that week Jack's words from their first official meeting rang in his head:

 _You keep her close. That's about the best you can do._


	7. Making Amends

Hiccup finally patches things up with Astrid, who is too resourceful for her own good and Jack is a sh*t but a surprisingly wise one.

I apologize once again for the delay, I finally quit my job and my car broke down almost immediately afterword, two days later I got strep throat and now I'm trying to get a refund for a $2500 scam I invested in, something I'm not sure they'll honor to add to it all. Sorry to pester, but kind words and writing advice is always welcome! And a big thank you to those of you beautiful people who've already said nice things about this work and have given me very helpful advice!

Spoiler alert: kissies in this chapter!

Chapter Seven

After that night, Hiccup wasted no more time calling up Jack and asking him for help training.

And thus Hiccup was panting and sweating profusely while trying to learn some of the basic Capoeira moves Jack was trying to teach him. Hiccup didn't consider himself as one who was easily embarrassed-a near lifetime of being pushed around and bullied hardly allowed for that-but, truth be told his cheeks weren't just flushing from exertion.

Jack had started by showing Hiccup some of the most basic moves of the style-and, although they did seem to be basic when he first started, doing them over and over again for nearly forty-five minutes really sucked the life out of Hiccup's slowly-but-surely developing arms. He whisked back and forth, repeating the drill Jack taught him, feeling the deep burn in his sides and shoulders and doing his very best to power through it. He began to blow his breath harshly through his pursed lips in concentration.

"You're not bad for a beginner, to be honest," Jack's voice cut through Hiccup's focus, causing him to misstep heavily and accidentally cross his legs awkwardly, "but you're pretty out of shape. You've been training since you've started to take on Pitch, right?"

"Yeah, Astrid knows krav maga so I was training with her for a couple of weeks, but I screwed that up… royally." Hiccup responded, trying not to fold in on himself while he desperately tried to catch his breath, he could hear a soft wheeze during his inhalations.

"You are quite the prince," Jack was rocking back on his bare feet in his 'Frost' form, as Hiccup had dubbed it, white hair replacing the brown and blue eyes glinting mischievously at him from where he stood, "Do I ever get to meet this illustrious Astrid?"

"Not if she never wants to see me again," he sighed, "which seems very likely at this point."

"What happened between you two?" Jack asked. It was casual enough, but Hiccup couldn't help but feel apprehensive; why exactly did the sprite care-if he did at all? It almost seemed _too_ casual to Hiccup. But then again, that kind of was Jack's style to act more casual and relaxed than it was possible in given situations. Even when Hiccup and Toothless _merged_ for the first time, when Jack had witnessed something that defied nature and every law of science that Hiccup was familiar with, he hadn't been completely spooked beyond comprehension. In fact, he returned to his slick self rather quickly. But then again, it made a sort of sense; what Jack could do defied science, as well. Things such as these may be a bit par for the course for him. It was only when Jack was around Pitch that he seemed vastly different than the snarky sprite Hiccup was used to.

"It was the bruises from our first fight with Pitch-" he finally answered, "I discovered that Nightmare sand is one of the few things that can hurt me through my scales when Toothless and I _merge_ , by the way-and she saw the bruises while she was helping me train. She thought I had only asked her to help me train so I could go out and fight in the streets."

"You kinda did, though," he answered, lowering himself to sit on the workbench in the basement corner. It was primarily used as a side project bench to work on things when Hiccup hadn't the time at work, or to take commissions home to work on, but he hadn't used it in months. The last project he had started was the leather steering wheel cover he had promised to make for his father, a project he had long since abandoned. He had forgotten all about it until he saw the edges and corners of a small pile of loose sketch paper peeking out from beneath Jack's rear.

He paled when he realized just what they were and crossed the room so fast Jack chuckled uneasily as he watched Hiccup advance toward him with what was most assuredly a menacing look on his face, "Hicc-" Jack began when Hiccup was within arms' length. The auburn haired boy didn't say anything, just pushed the sprite with his elbow just enough to get him partly off the papers and snatching them up with his free hand so fast the corners of a few papers still trapped under Jack were ripped off and were left behind in their journey to the recycle bin.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked from beside him as Hiccup stood, still staring at the crumpled pages. They remained leering at him until he decided that just crumpling them up would be less than they deserved and picked them back up, ripping them to shreds and letting them fall like snow around the bin, only about half the flakes actually landing inside.

"What were those?" Jack's voice startled him-he suddenly realized that he must have been standing there glaring at the shreds of paper for some time for him to forget that Jack was there.

Although he felt calmer than he had in a while just standing there, Hiccup's chest wavered with his inhalation, "Dad always wrung his steering wheel when he was stressed. He was always complaining about how it was falling apart. Before Dad died-good god, one week before, I had promised him I'd make him a new steering wheel cover to replace the old one, but I had to order the leather and wait for it to come in. I found it in the milk box at the gate. The leather's still somewhere outside, I threw it into the trees."

Jack didn't move, just sat for a time, quietly until he took a breath, "You know, I knew your Dad. Very briefly, and not in a formal setting, but... still."

"Was it a meeting in the form of jail time?"

"Har har," he said, dryly. "But it was."

"What did you do that was so bad the Captain of the Berk PD met with you?" Hiccup asked, intrigued.

"I was caught trespassing and stealing, then I resisted arrest." Jack began, but Hiccup didn't miss how he didn't meet his eyes, just stared at his bare feet, "It was right after the first time I became Jack Frost. I had to ditch my old clothes-don't ask why-so I hopped some fences and stole some clothes through an open laundry room window. I was seen by a neighbor and they called the police. When I heard the siren, I started running-I didn't know how to control my powers yet, so I couldn't exactly fly away. They caught me before too long. I think it was a holiday weekend, because the whole time I was in the hot house I didn't see many officers, I guess that's why the mammoth of a man who plowed into me was your dad."

Hiccup tried not to show his amusement. His father had been roughly 6'7" and 240 pounds. He wasn't sure how Jack had survived such a collision.

"He was really nice, though, considering I had no forms of ID and barely an idea who I was. He questioned me and walked me through everything I needed to do, he even said he would have his brother-your uncle, I guess-the D.A. take up my case if whoever I stole from decided to press charges."

Hiccup knew that was indeed his Uncle Spitelout, Snotlout's father. While he may not have been the most pleasant of men, he was a great Defence Attorney, one of the finest in both Burgess and Berk combined.

"Luckily they didn't," the sprite continued, "and he walked me through the release and took me all the way to a Salvation Army on the far side of Burgess. When I went in, he had me set up for a few nights. He was a really kind man."

Hiccup nodded absently. He already knew that. He stiffened only a little when Jack went on, "I was really sorry to hear about what happened." he said gently.

Hiccup nodded again. So was he.

He remembered when two police officers from the precinct where his father had been Captain for fifteen years showed to his door, their caps in their hands. His father had been called out halfway through dinner that night, leaving Hiccup to cover his huge portion of the meal with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for when he returned. Hiccup had long ago accepted that opting to be on call during his well-deserved time off was part of who his father was, and while he never admitted it, Hiccup admired his dedication, so him leaving that late at night really wasn't anything new for him. He always went on dangerous calls and he was always fine, so seeing the men at the door made Hiccup believe he was dreaming. Or having a nightmare.

The officers-both of which he knew fairly well-had stayed with him for well over an hour before Gobber showed up to stay with Hiccup. They had explained what happened-what started as a small gas station robbery quickly escalated into a hostage situation that proved to be deadly within its' first hour. A sniper from the SWAT team took out the first robber who had been guarding the hostages, allowing the SWAT ground team to move in. However, they hadn't successfully covered all possible exits, as the second robber squeezed through a vaulted bathroom window and tried to run, all the while firing blindly to try and cover himself, wounding one officer and killing his partner. Paramedics on-scene tried their best to resuscitate, but Captain Stoick "the Vast" Haddock was announced D.O.A. Hiccup felt he had never gotten to really say goodbye.

"You still rocking that ski mask?" Jack asked gently after what must have been a long silence. While his voice was quiet, he seemed to have switched back to relaxed and conversational after the sensitive topic. He had stood at some point and was now leaning against the desk, sipping from the disposable water bottle Hiccup had supplied him with.

"Are you jealous that my creative identity concealment adds to my tall, dark and mysterious vibe while yours could be matched with hydrogen peroxide and contact lenses?" Hiccup might have imagined it, but he could swear that he saw Jack scowl for half a second.

"Don't be going after my superhuman good looks, young man." he warned, dryly. He then turned and nodded to the coal black dog munching on a dental chew in the corner, his white teeth effectively severing chunks of green off the bar without much effort at all, "So how exactly do you and Toothful do your thing?"

"That's a good question. I really don't know how. I mean, I know how we do it, I just don't know… _how_."

"Uh, okay, d'you mind explaining what you do know?"

"Well, when our adrenaline is pumping and we touch, it's like we _meld_ into one form-and that form apparently has wings and firepower. We had never done it before we met you."

"I guess I really do have the magic touch then, you're welcome." Jack grinned, and Hiccup didn't spare him the energy to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, trying to kill me must have gotten _something_ started-"

"I wasn't trying to _kill_ you, I was just having some fun." Jack defended, Hiccup waving him off in a disbelieving gesture.

"Whatever. Anyway, we eventually separated after we calmed down that first time. But the whole thing is exhausting, and we're both completely starving when we separate. The longer we're _merged_ the worse it is when we separate, and I'm not quite sure how long we can hold it for. So obviously we can't do it whenever we want to like you can."

Jack nodded, looking pensive. Hiccup figured he was one of the rare and lucky few who was able to see Jack actually act serious, especially as many times as he had, "I told you mine-or, at least, what I know of mine-now you tell me yours." he requested. The sprite nodded again.

"I guess it's only fair. Well, officially, I'm dead." it was an interesting way to begin, but Hiccup was sure he couldn't have any more questions than Jack did when he told him his story-as limited to insight as it was, "My sister and I had gone ice skating last winter-not this past winter but the winter before that-and I wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. I was too focused on what tricks I could pull off without breaking my ankles and I didn't notice that the ice was too thin until she was too far out. There wasn't enough time to go get help, and she was too scared to move to get herself out. I used this stick I found-" Jack gestured to his staff, settled against the wall across the wide room near the basement door, "to pull her to the thicker ice, but I lost my balance and fell through the ice.

"The next part is where it starts to get a little… tell you the truth, I don't know if I died or not. I think I did, but… here I am. I woke up _so cold_. I could swear I was only under for a few moments, but it was dark out when I came back up, and the hole in the ice I had created when I fell through had already frozen back over. Besides, it was record-setting lows that night, around -10 degrees Fahrenheit, and it was late."

"How did you get out, though?" Hiccup asked. Jack looked back at him, hesitant, looking as if he, himself questioned the credibility of his own tale. "It only gets weirder from there. I was pulled from the water, but not by a rescue team. By an overwhelming light that was coming from the moon. I could see the lights of emergency response vehicles all the way across the lake, but they didn't see me when I took to the air. I nearly killed myself-possibly a second time-trying to figure out how exactly to fly. I watched what I could from a tree I finally landed in, but I didn't see my sister. Apparently they did sweeps of the lake, but they never found a body. Of course not, I'm not a ghost, obviously. But even so, how is it possible that I survived?"

Hiccup had no answer for him. Jack knew that, of course, and continued, "Maybe it's not. Maybe I did die. And maybe I was given another chance. Maybe this is it." Jack paused for a time, perhaps contemplating what he had been doing with this second chance he had been given, "I never told my sister I'm alive. I honestly can't tell you why."

"Is Jack your real name?" Hiccup asked gently.

"Jack is." he answered, but didn't elaborate. While the answer didn't exactly satisfy him, Hiccup thought it best not to press. It also occurred to him to ask if he knew where his family was, but decided quickly that that would be one of the worst choices he had made that week-which was quite an extensive list.

"So you've been knocking around on your own since then? Do you still sleep in the trees?"

"No, I've had an apartment, but not for much longer." Jack grumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"I got fired from my stupid waiter job at IHOP a few weeks ago for always showing up late and I haven't been able to find a job that doesn't ask for a birth certificate or social security card." Jack rolled his eyes in a manner typical of a girl in her early teens. Hiccup nodded slowly, remembering the bills slowly stacking up on his dining room table, an idea came to him. It certainly wasn't his best, but it killed two birds with one stone and provided a potential to make the city a little safer, as well.

"You know, this house is huge. There are at least two rooms that I don't think have been entered since I was about seven." at Jack's questioning look, Hiccup elaborated further, "I'm not using any of them, and it would help us both; me with rent, and you with a place to stay."

"Are you asking me to move in with you _already_? Hiccup, we barely know each other!" Jack gasped in mock shock.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "I'm serious. It'll be easier to train, and it's safer to be together as opposed to having to call one another for backup."

Jack's smirk gave way to one of rare pension, "Maybe, but I don't know, I mean, both of Pitch's enemies in one place? That's pretty risky."

"That's a good point. But even so, if we're here together most of the time, we can formulate a plan to infiltrate the sewers and figure out a way to get rid of Pitch for good." Jack nodded, lips pursed and brow creased. Hiccup almost had a mind to take a picture to remember that there were certain instances in which Jack actually _did_ think about more than his next joke.

"I guess it couldn't be much worse than our situations now," he began, talking more to himself than Hiccup, "and you're right about the plans… Yeah, okay."

Hiccup blinked. Even for Jack, that was a quick response, "Oh, okay, great. Not that I want to give you so much room you change your mind, but I want to make sure you're sure about this. Because you're right, it would be a risk."

"Yeah, but the biggest risk is not taking one," Jack said simply. Hiccup's mouth tried to work up a counterpoint, but he wasn't sure he had the energy; his stomach made it's presence known by emitting a rumble so loud Jack heard it and snorted. Hiccup glowered, turning to the basement door to retreat to the kitchen.

"About Astrid-" Jack began, again in a serious tone, following with his staff in hand. Toothless abandoned his chew on the floor and padded after the boys, knowing full well what time it was.

"Jack," Hiccup interrupted, sighing for what felt like the hundredth time that week, "I really don't want to talk about this."

"Did I ask you if you wanted to?" the sprite was back to his teasing manner, a wide smirk lighting up his features.

Hiccup scowled, not caring that Jack couldn't see it, "You're a-"

"Delight, yes, but enough about me," Hiccup rolled his eyes back so far he made himself dizzy for a moment as Jack continued, flipping from snarky to sincere so fast it made Hiccup's head spin-more than it already was, that is, "I told you to keep her close. No matter what lies you have to tell her to make that happen."

Hiccup fell silent at the advice, surprised at the wisdom that the boy offered, and it didn't take him long at all to make up his mind.

Less than ten minutes after the sprite left once the pair had finished eating, Hiccup heard the doorbell ring. No one was there when he opened the door, but an old, impossibly moldy box sat on the cement step. Thinking Jack was just pulling a weird thank-you prank, Hiccup attempted to kick the box off the porch, but only made it split apart from the force of Hiccup's kick. Slipping free from the soiled cardboard to stretch across the porch and dangle over the edge was a decent-sized slab of leather, just as dark and handsome as it had been when he first found it in the milk box. The full-grained surface of the leather seemed so dark it almost looked as if the material had absorbed the light surrounding it, barely allowing a reflection across the surface.

Hiccup couldn't believe Jack had found it. He bent down and retrieved the leather, thumbing across it's slightly scarred surface. There was some mold on the topmost layer of one side, but Hiccup could easily trim that off. Considering how long it had been in the elements, Hiccup was shocked that didn't resemble bear droppings at that point. Hiccup retreated inside, heading upstairs to his room to retrieve his design for his new helmet, still resting on his bed. Once the design had been found, Hiccup headed back to the basement, Toothless on his heels as always, to his desk to start working.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Later that night, Hiccup spent an entire hour to write up what he had wanted to tell Astrid, feeling ridiculous all the while. He was twenty years old, he shouldn't have to plan out a _phone call_ , even if it was a plea for _Astrid Hofferson's_ forgiveness.

Hiccup couldn't help but wince when the phone went to voicemail after one ring, knowing Astrid had seen his number and ignored the call.

"Hey, Astrid, it's-uh, well, you know who it is, heh," Hiccup rubbed his neck, "I don't even know if you'll listen to this message… but I hope so… I know that lying is something I seem to be doing a lot of lately, and I really do apologize for it. I don't do it because I like to, or because I feel like you don't deserve to know the truth, because you do. If you're patient with me, I swear I _will_ tell you the truth, just… not right now. I'm not ready to just yet. Please respect that and don't press me for the answers I can't give right now. But I still want to be your friend, Astrid. I was honestly in a better place than I had been in months and you had a big hand in that. I… I don't want to lose you again. So, if you can give me another chance, meet me at the Firepit on Saturday at 3:00. Outside this time. I really hope to see you there. And Astrid-" he took another deep breath, "I'm sorry."

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Hiccup tried very hard not to look at his phone every three minutes.

He looked back at his phone screen. 3:14. No messages. None.

He sighed and scrubbed his face. The breeze ruffled his hair pleasantly from where he sat, Toothless happily panting at his feet at the Firepit Diner. He ran a finger down the sweating side of his ice water glass, his stomach too unsettled to risk eating at that point. Astrid was almost fifteen minutes late, and Hiccup had arrived ten minutes early to wait for her. The afternoon sun was hot on his head, and he didn't doubt that he'd get an unflattering sunburn across his nose and cheeks, but it was rarely over 70 degrees Fahrenheit in Berk, even at the beginning of summer.

Hiccup had finally decided he would wait for Astrid a bit longer-an additional fifteen minutes, and if she didn't come, she truly didn't want to see him-when Toothless rose from his position and chuffed. He leaned forward automatically to try and sooth the dog, carefully checking his breathing to try and relax more-just in case-when he heard a hesitant voice call his name.

"Uh, Hiccup?" his head shot up to look at the woman, her flaxen hair down and fluttering away from her bare shoulders. He could only see the faintest outline of her face, as she was framed by the sun, but he knew it was her.

"Astrid!" his voice was higher than he would have liked, but he was so surprised it seemed to him almost like he hadn't been expecting her to show up at all, "You came."

She didn't respond, instead stood where she was, sliding the pad of her thumb across the tips of her nails on one hand, her expression still unseen in the glaring light. Hiccup cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Uh, you okay?"

"Is, um, is he nice?" she asked, sounding timid. It took Hiccup a moment to figure out what she meant, as although the dog at his feet was more of a teddy bear to most newcomers, he was still 95 pounds of black German Shepherd, and undoubtedly looked pretty intimidating to those who didn't know him.

"Oh! Yeah, of course. He's way friendly. It's okay, you can come closer. Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid." Hiccup introduced them, trying to give Astrid her space by keeping a firm hold on Toothless' collar, which he was straining hard against to get a better look at the potential new friend.

Astrid hesitantly stepped forward, head still high as she gingerly outstretched her hand to the dog, who sniffed it for barely a second before pushing his nose into it. Hiccup laughed, and counted it as a victory when Astrid smiled down at the sweet beast, "He likes you."

Astrid then moved to sit down across from Hiccup at the table, sliding out from the sun's glare. Now that she was more than a silhouette, Hiccup could see that Astrid was wearing a wine red sleeveless top that gave him a flattering view of her freckled shoulders. Her hair was partially pulled out of her eyes, and just a bit formed upwards from removing her bike helmet. She was wearing an old pair of jeans and black sneakers Hiccup swore he recognized from high school. It was clear to him that she didn't put much effort into her appearance before coming to meet him.

"I didn't hear your bike," Hiccup said dumbly. It occurred to him that while he was writing a transcript for his voice message the other night he should have written one for this occasion.

"I parked a few blocks away. I didn't want to have to circle around to find a place to park when I was this late already. Sorry about that, by the way." she said, but didn't explain.

"No, no worries." Hiccup said, idly digging his hands into Toothless' fur, heated by the sun, "If you want to order, I can get the waiter-"

"That's okay." Astrid said simply. Though no emotion was evident in her voice, Hiccup could tell he was in big trouble. Might as well bite the bullet.

"Look, Astrid. From the bottom of my heart, I am sincerely sorry for how I've been acting. Things have been-"

"Complicated?" she interjected.

"...So beyond complicated, you have no idea." he admitted. "I can't exactly tell you what I'm going through just yet, but I know I will."

"So you've said." Astrid replied. He resisted the urge to sigh. He wasn't quite sure if she was doing it purposefully or not, but she was acting very guarded. Not just in the way she spoke, but her body language and facial expression were unreadable. That made Hiccup feel like she was making it a whole lot harder than it had to be to proceed.

"Look, Astrid. I know you're upset with me. You have every right to be. But I'm finding new things out about myself. Crazy, unbelievable things," he winced; how could he make her understand without giving too much away? He would be putting himself and Toothless in danger by admitting to her he was Night Fury, as well as her. He felt Toothless' head nudge against his knee, knowing the dog must be able to feel his apprehension. He reminded himself once again what Jack had told him: _I told you to keep her close. No matter what lies you have to tell her to make that happen._ "Please don't push me to tell you what they are yet. I will tell you if you stick with me, but I want to be ready when I do. But I will tell you the truth someday, because you don't deserve anything less. Do you… understand?"

Astrid didn't respond for so long, that maddeningly unreadable expression unwavering, that Hiccup contemplated how many ice cubes from his water glass he would have to swallow at once in order to choke to death. He had gotten so used to the silence he jumped slightly when she cleared her throat.

"I won't lie to you: I don't like that you feel you have to keep secrets. But the other night you asked me to respect that you're not ready yet, so I feel obliged to do so." Hiccup felt the beginnings of a hopeful smile tug at his cheeks, "But: If you really need help, you need to come to me and ask for it, okay? Because if you don't, then I will never talk to you again, do you understand me?"

Hiccup swallowed. He knew Astrid well enough to know that she was far from joking. While he knew couldn't guarantee he would in the near future, part of him couldn't help but hope that there was a time in the future where he could do just that, without fear of putting any one of them in harm's way. So he swore on those terms.

He watched relieved as Astrid relaxed exponentially before him. She allowed his to call a waiter to their table and they went on like they hadn't missed a beat as the afternoon progressed, Hiccup making it his personal mission to make Astrid laugh so hard water shot out her nose like he used to be able to.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

"Look how dark it's gotten already," Astrid suddenly commented, Hiccup immediately feeling the familiar but far-from-welcome anxiousness rise in his stomach, Toothless whining softly beside him. Without having to think about it, Hiccup again buried his fingers in the coarse hair on Toothless' neck. The Shepherd turned his head to nose at Hiccup's open palm. He jumped when words of comfort pressed themselves into his mind.

 _It's okay._

Somehow, the words helped him relax. He would ensure Astrid would get home safely. Then he and Toothless would return to their own home safely, too.

"Shall we call it a night?" He smiled and stood up from the table, Toothless acting as his mirror and Astrid copying their example, thankfully returning the smile, "Can I walk you to your bike?" he asked.

She lead him to the paved egress of the parking lot and along the curb of the street, too narrow to walk by her side. Hiccup stayed close at her heel as she dragged her slender fingers along the wall of the building beside her, the old, chipped paint flaking off beneath her fingertips.

Two blocks away from the restaurant, Astrid's bike stood between a sedan and a pickup truck, sticking out into the street for visibility. Hiccup scoffed.

"Oh, you're one of _those_ bikers, huh?"

"What do you mean, 'one of _those_ bikers?'" she retorted, looking over her shoulder at him.

"You park your bike so it's sticking out like that but still taking up the whole parking space. You can only see them when you go to pull into the spot and you almost hit it's nose. Waste of a good parking space."

Astrid stopped walking then and turned to face him. She glared at him for a moment, and Hiccup would have been nervous if she hadn't been smirking. He knew he was off the hook when she batted his shoulder with her fist-for a normal person, it could be considered rough, but Hiccup knew she was a lot stronger than she looked. Then again, he also knew she more than likely knew how strong she was and how much force she put into the punch. All was forgiven, though, when she laughed.

She just looked so beautiful, smiling in the fading gold light of dusk that he felt he couldn't be held accountable for his next actions. Many a sane man in his position would have done the same, he reasoned.

He pulled her into a kiss, soft at first and then deeper. He lost himself in the feel of his lips against hers and how it made him feel inside; A warmth that he hadn't felt in years reignited inside him, and he never wanted to pull away. He was pushed away, though, when he attempted to deepen the kiss further and slip his tongue past her lips. She grunted and braced her hands against his chest. She didn't have to push him very hard to get him to spring away and immediately he felt the heat rise in his cheeks, desperately looking anywhere but her eyes, "I-I-I'm sorry, I-I don't know what-I just-I'm so sorry," he sputtered.

Astrid scoffed, "After everything you've done since I came back to town _that's_ what you apologize for?"

Looking back at her, startled, he watched her smile fondly at him the same way she had the last time he had stumbled pathetically over his own words, "Look, Hiccup," he flinched; those were never words one wanted to hear from a girl he had attempted to french, "it's not that I don't like you, it's really because I like you that I want you to know that I don't-"

"-See me that way," Hiccup finished for her, trying not to let his head droop in disappointment. His words as he tried to excuse himself were rushed and flooded together, "It's okay, Astrid, really. I get it. I'd better be getting going, Toothless is getting antsy, I'd better get him home and feed him. I had fun tonight, though. I'll see you after work on Monday, right?."

He gave her a smile, really trying hard not to allow its forced nature show, and turned away before she could respond. Toothless whined, but followed at his heels, head hanging almost as low as Hiccup's own.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Back in the car, Hiccup sat with his hands locked on the steering wheel, keys in the ignition but the engine off. His knuckles were beginning to turn white. Toothless whined in the seat beside him and put his paw out to catch Hiccup's shoulder as if to comfort him, but his claws dug deeply at his skin through the fabric of his hoodie.

"Ow." he said flatly and Toothless removed his paw, instead moving to lick his boy's cheek. He couldn't help but be a mix of amused and endeared by the dog's attempts to comfort him even in his crushed state, and he let himself laugh.

The moment was cut short by a loud tap against the window. Both dog and boy jumped, Hiccup suddenly blinded by the glare of a flashlight. _Cops_ , he immediately thought. He wasted no time gathering his wallet from his back pocket and pulling out his licence before rolling down the window, "Is there a problem offi-" he cut himself off when he recognized the gold hair and round face of the girl who just rejected him.

"Astrid? What're you-"  
"Don't be mad; if you had known it was just me would you have rolled the window down?"

She had a point, "Where did that flashlight come from?"

"I carry one in my purse, duh." Hiccup couldn't really figure out why that was "duh" worthy; He didn't even have a flashlight in his car for emergencies. He sputtered indignantly when she reached forward and tugged his keys from his ignition, holding them at arm's length, "you didn't let me finish before. You're wrong. It's not that I don't see you that way. Of _course_ I do. All the time we've spent together reminded me of how being around you made me feel when we were younger; I didn't know what it meant back then, but now that I'm older, I think I know what it means: I _do_ like you. A _lot_. And I _want_ to be with you. I was going to tell you that I want to take it slow," she brought her arm back to offer his keys back to him, "If it's okay with you."

He didn't speak, instead reached out and joined their hands together with the keys in between and smiled at her.


	8. He's Exhausted, Okay?

Jack moving in, Astrid and Hiccup moving forward, no Pitch attacks. Times are good until they're not.

Heyyy there folks. OK, so I literally had no idea it had over been a year since the last plot bunny came sneaking in and bit me in the ass, so I'm so sorry I haven't been active. This chapter was just sitting half finished for over ten months….. Yeah. wow. I'll do my best it keep up with it again and get back to posting every not as often as I'd like. I thank you all so much for your patience and reviews, it warms my heart.

Chapter Eight

Nearly two weeks after Jack agreed to move in with Hiccup he called and asked for help moving his belongings. When Hiccup asked how much there was, Jack told him he didn't know for sure, he wasn't finished yet. Hiccup tried to remain patient as he asked why it had been taking so long for Jack to pack his things, to which Jack gave him a slick, noncommittal response, as usual.

Wrangling in his frustration, Hiccup finally asked, "Well, how much do you have ready?"

"I've got about two big boxes and a trash bag and a half as well as some furniture. But it all has to come with, I've put most of it up on Craigslist."

"Jack, I drive a car with pathetic trunk space. How are we going to move your furniture? Unless you've got enough cash on you to rent a moving truck, because I know _I_ don't."

"Don't worry about that," Hiccup could hear a voice-maybe two-in the background through the obvious grin in Jack's voice, "I've got a friend who can help with that. Now get over here, there are some people I want you to meet."

Before Hiccup could open his mouth the call was terminated. He sighed heavily and hauled himself out of bed, glancing at his alarm clock and heaving another sigh: 7:45 am. He didn't know how it was possible that Jack was up before he was, but apparently it was. It was Hiccup's day off, and he had _wanted_ to sleep in, but that didn't look like it was going to happen. As he stood and moved to his dresser, Toothless huffed from his dog bed, rolling from his side to his belly and looking just as enthusiastic as Hiccup himself was.

"Sorry, bud," Hiccup apologized, "but our new roomie needs our assistance."

The Shepherd stood slowly and stretched himself into an ironic downward dog before lazily staggering through the open door as Hiccup got himself dressed. When Toothless had decided Hiccup was taking to long to exit his room he let out a series of indignant barks from the bottom of the stairs. He moved to his empty food bowl in the kitchen and pawed it across the floor, knowing full well that the _scrape_ it made against the linoleum sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Hiccup.

" _Toothless_ ," Hiccup scolded from the top of the stairs, still pulling his jeans on, "I'm _coming_ , would you _please_ stop making that noise!"

Hiccup tried to hide his grin at the _Rrrooww_? noise the dog made in response. He was like a toddler: if he saw Hiccup smile then he would consider it approval and would continue his actions. In Hiccup's defence: that noise he made totally sounded like he was trying to talk, to defend himself.

Hiccup reached the kitchen and pulled the bag of dog food from the pantry, which was getting uncomfortably light. He would have to pick up another bag after he was done helping Jack. Moving to peer into the fridge, Hiccup groaned; he'd have to pick up more than dog food. Deciding to stay on the positive side, Hiccup considered this an opportunity: he would take Jack with him and they would pick up what they both needed and split the bill, rather than writing down lists and 'I owe you's' later.

By the time he had finished off the last of the milk and cereal, Toothless had begun to whine by the front door. Grabbing his hoodie and keys from the hallway floor, he opened the main door, rolling his eyes when Toothless forced the cheap screen door open with his nose.

"Don't take too long," Hiccup warned as the dog disappeared into the trees to do his business. There was a light fog hanging close to the ground, not so thick as to compromise visibility when he got onto the road, but enough to make for a pleasant stroll to his car. Although it was early for Hiccup on his day off, the sun was already fairly high and peeking through the trees. After a few minutes, Toothless finally stormed through the brush and hopped into the car through Hiccup's open door. He tsked, brushing the mud off the driver's seat.

"Did you find a swamp out there that I wasn't aware of, bud?" he turned the car on and backed out of the driveway.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

It took him an embarrassing amount of time to find Jack's apartment, as only the street name and his apartment number were supplied in Jack's text. He spent half the time yelling at his Google Maps app, Toothless grumbling in annoyance every time he raised his voice. It wasn't that he was an aggressive driver, it was just early for him to be on the roads so early on his day off, a fact that he was going to be reminding Jack of for the next week.

Toothless happily leapt out of the car as soon as Hiccup opened his door, barreling across Hiccup's lap in his rush, making him cry out in pained surprise at the sudden heft. The dog wasn't light, by any means: he was over 95 lbs and his back reached just above the middle of Hiccup's thigh-who was six-foot one.

He was still regaining his breath when he heard an obnoxious guffaw coming from across the car parking lot. Looking up with a scowl on his face, he saw a bobbing mass of red hair leaning against a dark blue truck for support. He heard snorts erupting from beneath it, and eventually a face emerged, nearly as red as the hair from laughter. A young girl, around his age if Hiccup had to guess, still standing before him and not even trying to hide her amusement.

"I'm glad I could entertain you this fine morning," Hiccup growled dryly. Toothless, however, seemed pleased that this girl found him so funny, and trotted toward her, ears perked. Hiccup's demeanor changed from hostile to uneasy in a moment when the girl stopped laughing and widened her eyes at the mutt advancing toward her, "Uh-he's harmless, don't worry."

"Aw, 'e doesn't bother me," the girl responded, Hiccup blinking at the Scottish accent so heavy it could've rivaled both Gobber's and his father's own, "We've had deerhounds since I was in nappies. This guy's nothin'. He's go' a real handsome coat, though," she leaned down and scratched Toothless behind his ears, his tongue lolling out as he leaned into the contact. After a moment, Hiccup glanced down at the clock on his phone and decided they had taken up enough time.

"Alright, c'mon Toothless, we've gotta go, bud," he turned to cross the small lawn leading to the building's entrance. He huffed and turned away from the redhead to follow his boy.

"Toothless?" the girl remarked from behind him. Hiccup sighed in frustration.

"He was a puppy with no teeth," he threw over his shoulder before jogging ahead to reach the doors of the apartment complex to avoid any further judgement, Toothless scampering after him. He thought he heard the girl calling after him in her heavy drawl, but he didn't care to stop and listen.

A caution sign barring entrance to the elevator and two flights of stairs later, Hiccup and Toothless had finally reached apartment 314, the door wide open and Jack's voice from inside making it a bit easier to find. While Jack's voice was loud and clear (as usual) he was nowhere in sight, his voice echoing so richly Hiccup figured he must have been in a bathroom, he was first met by a girl standing in the apartment's kitchen, facing away from him. As she turned, he noticed her round face framed by short dark brown hair that seemed to be spread out in a fan by her haircut. Her hands were busy wrapping a coffee mug in what looked to be printmaking paper, smiling in greeting.

She must have been expecting someone else, for as soon as she registered Hiccup her eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Oh," she said, her voice still upbeat despite her expression, "hello!"

"Hiro?" Jack's voice came booming from the hallway nearby.

"Uh, no," the girl responded, still upbeat. She didn't seem upset, thankfully, but Hiccup thought she was awfully taken aback for someone who was standing right in front of an open and unguarded front door.

"It's me," he called, nodding to the girl in an attempt to soothe her somewhat, "Hiccup."

"Oh, hey!" Jack answered, though made no attempt to meet him.

"Hiccup," the girl's welcoming smile turned to one of sympathy, "so you're the poor saint taking Jack in next."

"Aw, shut up already!" Jack laughed. The girl's ever-present smile widened as she stepped forward and offered her hand. Shaking it, Hiccup marveled at her grip-much stronger than he would have suspected. Even in his sour mood, Hiccup couldn't help but feel as if her excitable energy was rubbing off on him a little when he found himself grinning back at her as if they already had a shared secret.

"I'm Rapunzel," she smiled, setting the wrapped mug into the box she had on the counter next to her.

"Guten Tag," he responded, scratching the top of Toothless's head when he butted his hand for attention.

"Schön, sie kennen zu lernen," she laughed when Hiccup looked lost-she caught on quick and translated, "I said 'it's nice to meet you.'"

"Oh, well-you too," Hiccup moved his hand to scratch the back of his neck, a nervous tick of his. Toothless whined at the loss of scratches, sitting down on his haunches to paw at Hiccup's leg. Hiccup outstretched his other hands to placate the dog, but Rapunzel beat him to it with a squeal. She lurched forward and gently buried her fingers in Toothless' thick fluff. The Shepherd looked surprised at first, but it took him less than a second to warm up to the girl smothering him with attention.

"So, uh, you speak German?" Hiccup asked awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. He got the feeling like there would be a lot of stories this girl could offer, and he'd like to know more about her, but he felt like such an intruder already.

Ever since he invited Jack into his home on a whim, he had felt foolish. Normally he wouldn't hesitate to help out a friend, even one he hardly knew… but he hadn't exactly felt _normal_ for a while. He wasn't certain Jack could help much with rent or even with understanding his powers. Lately he'd been wondering if he had made the right decision. He knew he once would have been ashamed of himself for considering this, but now he wasn't sure if the fact that he didn't really feel this way now a side effect of the past year or just was a sign of being an adult. His chest ached a little as he watched Rapunzel fawn over Toothless like Hiccup himself had when he was younger-or like he had just a year ago. Well, Hiccup realized, perhaps he _was_ so much younger a year ago. Maybe he had let Jack in because he really just needed a friend. One he didn't have to hide from or lie to.

"I lived in Germany with my mother most of my life, that's where I met Merida while she was "traveling" as she likes to call it. Studying abroad is closer," Rapunzel responded, standing up to play chase with Toothless, even though the apartment was tiny and littered with boxes among other tripping hazards, "I was taught both German and English growing up, which I'm grateful for because I've always wanted to go back to the states. It's where my real mother was born."

"Your-" Hiccup started to ask, but, recognizing the sadness in her expression, even as she bowed her head, he decided against it. He had to admit he was curious, but he knew the look well enough to know she would appreciate not having to talk about it. After all, he'd worn that look for two different people in his life, "So, uh, how do you know Jack?"

Rapunzel smiled again, though not taking her eyes off Toothless. She opened her mouth to talk when the man himself strutted out of the hallway holding a small cardboard box with a wet stain soaked through on one corner, "Oh, we met in the usual way, y'know," Jack smiled in greeting when he met Hiccup's eyes, "girl is riding her bicycle down the street and runs over innocent boy on his way home from work. Needless to say, we became inseparable."

"Funny, tha's no' how _I_ remember it," came a cringingly familiar Scottish lilt from behind Hiccup, "I think your box has a leak in it, there."

Hiccup suppressed the urge to sigh as he turned. The redhead was leaning against the open door frame. How Hiccup hadn't even heard her approach was beyond him, but she sneered at him like she had just won a prize. Meanwhile, Jack craned his neck to look at the underside of the box and cursed.

"That'll be the Head and Shoulders," he set the box down on the counter, "at least when your truck smells nice you'll think of me."

The girl wrinkled her nose, "You're not moving tha' leaky box in _my_ truck."

"Well I'm not gonna tie it to the roof."

"We'll tie a rope around it and drag it along behind," Rapunzel joined in from across the living room where she and Toothless were having the time of their lives playing tag around Jack's couch.

The redheaded girl grunted, "At least you've go' a dog to make your presence more bearable, grumpy."

Jack's eyebrows knitted in confusion, "Hey, sass and grumpiness are two entirely different-"

"She means me," Hiccup told him, shaking his head and stepping forward, holding out his hand. Again, if he had been acting like his normal self, the self from a year ago, he would apologize and frantically do everything he could to make amends with this girl. But he had found that that former self of his was really only visible in his mind's eye, and unobtainable. He almost wanted to make an effort to make his apology sincere, but he just… couldn't really. Unlike with Rapunzel, he didn't like this girl, nor would he have any reason to if she weren't friends with Jack. Maybe he'd warm up to her, maybe he wouldn't. So he didn't really feel like putting more effort into his handshake than he had to when he offered it to her. Her shake was so strong that, unlike with Rapunzel's, Hiccup figured she was squeezing his hand much more tightly than necessary on purpose. So she didn't like him either, then. Oh well. "We met outside."

"It was almost as remarkable a meeting as when you barreled straight through Punzes' front tire." the girl turned back to Jack, who was looking back and forth between the two of them quizzically. He must have wisely decided he didn't want to know, because he turned and headed back down the hallway.

"I'm no public menace," he tossed over his shoulder, then added, "Hiccup, now that you're here, I need your help packing up my bedroom."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and glanced over at Toothless, still frolicing in the half-packed boxes in the living room. There was so much clutter everywhere Hiccup wondered how many days it would take them to sort through it all. He had the feeling that he would have some uneasy nights ahead unpacking once they finally got it all back to his house.

"Ah, don' worry about the pup," the redhead told him, brushing past him, "we'll entertain him. My name's Merida, by the way, thanks for asking, _Hiccup_."

She spat his name, sounding oddly like his cousin for a moment. He thought up about a dozen comments to spit back, but he bit his tongue and followed Jack into his room. If she was helping transport boxes, and _half_ as good a prankster as Jack seemed to be, he had better at least try to make amends with her if she was going to know where he lived. And she was Jack and Rapunzel's friend, after all. Maybe there was a reason for that.

The door Jack had gone through was half-way open, sunlight burning against a wall inside and creating a warm glow. Hiccup reached out his hand to push open the door a bit more to accommodate him and was nearly knocked off his rhythym by the unmoving door. Slipping in through the crack, behind the door he saw so many boxes stacked so oddly it looked as though Jack were trying to make a fort out of them.

"Is this why it's taken you so long to pack?" Hiccup looked at Jack who was already crouching between a dresser against the wall and his bed, which was also covered in boxes, "you've been building a cardboard castle?"

"I'm not gonna lie, I thought about it."

"Well, I'm not going to help you build your empire for the cardboard war, if that's what you brought me in for," Hiccup crossed his arms, but began looking around at what still needed to be done. There was some laundry in a hamper next to the closet, which still had a few hoodies hanging up-seriously, were hoodies all this guy owned?-and the bed, but everything else looked already packed or ready to be hauled. Jack held a trash bag in one hand and a corner sheet of his bed in the other.

"Foils my plans," he chucked the trash bag in Hiccup's direction, "hey, think fast!"

Hiccup didn't really have to. The open plastic bag fluttered to the ground as soon as it left Jack's hand. They both stared at it for a moment, before Jack grinned, not a trace of embarrassment in his expression, "You got lucky this time, Dragon Boy,"

Hiccup would have laughed, but he flinched as if struck and whirled around to the door, still open. Moving as quickly as he could, he quietly shut the door, "Are you crazy? Did you tell-"

"Of course not," Jack actually looked a little hurt, "I wouldn't-that's _your_ secret to tell."

Hiccup breathed with relief, "But," Jack continued, "I swear to you that if I had they wouldn't tell a soul. You can trust them if you do decide to tell them."

Hiccup searched Jack's face for and hint that he might not be sincere, but didn't find one, "Do they know about yours?"

Jack held his eyes for so long Hiccup was astonished that he could stand still for so long. He didn't answer, instead finally turned away to pick up the bed sheet, flinging boxes from the bed as he pulled. Hiccup wasn't sure what that look was supposed to mean, but he decided not to ask, instead bent down to gather up the bag from the floor. He crossed over to the hamper in front of the closet and began stuffing clothes into it. Thankfully Hiccup could smell the detergent on them, so they were clean. Once he had finished, he began folding the hoodies up from the closet and fitting them around Jack's belongings already packed into open boxes for padding.

"Hey, man," Hiccup had gotten so distracted that he jumped when Jack spoke, "I saw how you and Merida glared at each other. I know we don't know each other all that well just yet-" Hiccup scoffed, "-and although you've been great to me already, just be nice to my girls, even if one of them doesn't seem to like you yet. They've both been through a lot, just like we have."

Hiccup worked his jaw for a moment, not yet meeting Jack's eyes, "I don't really know them yet, but I kinda doubt either of them would like it if you called them 'your girls.'"

Jack blanched, "Yeah, you're right, so how about we not tell them I said that," he extended his hand to rest on Hiccup's shoulder, "my point is that I have a talent for picking good friends."

Hiccup blinked at the look Jack gave him. _Oh_. He wasn't just talking about the girls. He was talking about Hiccup, too.

"You'll warm up to her."

Once they had finally finished, the boys then pushed all the boxes down the carpted hallway out to the living room, which had somehow gotten so clear that Hiccup had almost asked if they had hired someone to pack junk for them. The girls reported that they had gotten all the boxes to the truck, and the only ones they were still waiting on were the ones from Jack's room. Hiccup tried not to balk, remembering how cluttered with boxes of all sizes the apartment had been when he first arrived. Some of them had looked seriously heavy. He and Jack hadn't heard a peep from the living room while they worked, so he wondered how the two of them had gotten the boxes out without them hearing. He looked at Toothless as if for an explanation, but the dark dog just sat beside the kitchen counter, oddly sedated and staring at him, his expression saying, _I have seen things today._

"Who's hungry?" the voice came so suddenly that Hiccup jumped, turning to see a short, black-haired boy coming into the apartment with grocery bags filling both hands. He had a wide grin and hair almost messier than Hiccup's, rushing over to the kitchen island to set down his load. He began unpacking the bags, pulling out a stack of paper plates from one and a takeout box in the other. To his credit, when he noticed Hiccup, he didn't bat an eye. In lieu of a greeting, he said, "Oh, hey. Do you prefer pork or tofu?"

Jack chuckled, "Hiro, this is Hiccup,"

Hiro didn't look up from his unpacking, "Hiccup, huh? Who decided on that?"

"Uh, my mom did," Hiccup responded, unsure what else to say. Hiro looked up at him this time, his dark eyes curious but slightly amused.

"You missed the packing," Merida accused as she grabbed a paper plate from the stack.

"Oh, bummer." the boy drawled, his smile looking so very devastated as he handed her a pair of chopsticks, "I was sooo looking forward to breaking my back and overworking myself over Jack's junk today."

His lower lip dipped into a pout, unfolding the cardboard boxes. Turning back to Hiccup, he stated, "I brought pork," he lifted two boxes from the bag, "or we have tofu if you prefer," handing another to Rapunzel, who eagerly opened it with a thankful smile, "and plenty of soy sauce and wasabi,"

"The food, but not the muscles," Jack noted, though Hiccup didn't follow, instead looked to Hiro for an explanation.

"He's working on an assignment, it seemed big so I didn't want to pester him," he responded, which didn't clear things up much for Hiccup.

"Since when?" Merida asked poking Hiro's arm with the chopsticks.

"You would've understood if you had seen him stress over it," Hiro laughed and swatted the sticks away. He finally turned back to Hiccup, peeling a paper plate from the bunch and offering it to him, "Dig in! I figured Jack would've invited a legion to help him pack, so I brought enough to feed one,"

Hiccup took the plate and Hiro grabbed a plastic serving spoon to dish his plate, "How much did you guys have left to do?"

Merida snorted, elbowing Jack as he grabbed his own plate, "All of it. He's just lucky we're fast."

Hiro whistled appreciatively, "Packing for you, housing you _and_ feeding you? All I can say is that you're lucky we love you so much, Jack,"

Jack, who had already stuffed his cheeks with noodles, just grunted and blew a kiss to Hiro with his full mouth. Once he swallowed, he turned to Rapunzel next to him, "Y'know, a lot of people don't consider fish to be actual meat, Punz,"

"It's still a living thing. It's not consenting," she countered over her plate of tofu.

"Last time I checked, plants can't consent either."

"Plant consent is implied!"

"Leave her be," Merida scolded, "she the kind of vegan which doesn't eat honey,"

Hiccup blinked, thinking about the semi-raw microwaved hamburger he'd indulged in after his Merge on more than one occasion.

"So, Hiccup, tell us about yourself," Hiro turned back to Hiccup, picking up his own plate.

Hiccup swallowed, probably looking like a deer in the headlights, "Uh, there's not much to tell,"

"With a name like Hiccup?" when Jack snorted Hiro waved his hand at him, "c'mon, there's gotta be some good stories you can share."

Hiccup glanced down at his fork, which was immediately snatched away by Merida and replaced with a set of chopsticks before he could open his mouth.

"If I can eat with chopsticks, so can you," she said, inducing Hiccup to roll his eyes back so far he felt momentarily dizzy.

"Berk born and bred, I live on the far, far side of town. You'll see it soon, I guess. I've had Toothless since he was a pup, and that's about the most exciting it gets." he answered finally, hoping to avoid further questions by loading his mouth with food. Get-to-know-you questions always took turns in directions he didn't want to go down.

"Berk, huh? That town is _so_ quiet," Hiro grinned appreciatively.

"Real quaint," Rapunzel nodded.

" _How quiet is it_?" Jack intoned, upper body leaning close to the surface of the counter. Hiccup knew by the mocking tone he was attempting to make some sort of joke, but he himself was drawing a blank. He supposedly wasn't the only one, for Jack's grin fell when he scanned the row of dubious faces before him, "Nobody? Really? Oh you guys are the worst!"

"Tha's too old." Merida stated and turned back to her plate.

"'Too old.'" Jack repeated through his self-deprecating laugh.

"Although not untrue," Rapunzel agreed sheepishly, "the last real news story I heard from Berk was when their Police Chief-"

Jack cut her off, putting his hand on her shoulder and clearing his throat, "Guys, the attacks from Pitch Black are centered in Burgess, not Berk, is all. The media outlets want to get as close to the action as possible, so any coverage besides the attacks is going to be minimal."

Hiccup nodded in genuine thanks to Jack across the table, met with a smile more sullen than he had ever seen on the boy before. The others didn't fail to notice the sudden change in Jack's tone, and a momentary hush fell over the little kitchen. Hiccup didn't doubt that the other three immediately figured that topic was sensitive to him somehow, and if Jack was trying to protect him from it, it was off-limits. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but maybe they only assumed it was because of how esteemed the Chief had been in so small of a town, the wound was still fresh. Maybe they hadn't looked at the _in memoriam_ photos on the news and in the papers long enough to notice the same sharp jaw, the same wild auburn hair, and the green eyes just a touch more steely than Hiccup's own. _Please don't ask, please don't ask_ , please _don't ask_.

"Hiro, how's your fashion design class going?" Jack asked after nearly fifteen minutes of the group finishing their meals, finally deciding it had been quiet for far too long. It didn't work, however, as all motion in the kitchen ceased completely for an incredible amount of time as Hiro stared at Jack with a face Hiccup couldn't quite describe in one word. He watched the tension sprout on the shoulders of the two girls, frozen but for their eyes, which sprung back and forth between Jack and Hiro. Hiccup was suddenly very uncomfortable, the only noise heard was a long whine from Toothless. He would not have been surprised at all if the pup could _smell_ the tension, because Hiccup was pretty sure he could have sliced it into twelve pieces with the bamboo sticks in his hand, it was so thick. The silence was finally broken when one of the chopsticks Hiro was holding snapped in his white-knuckled hands.

" _What_ ," he breathed, so low it made Hiccup wince, "did you just say?"

"I love you, Hiro-"

"No, _what did you say_ -"

"Guys!" Rapunzel jumped from her perch on the island stool, Merida following so quickly she knocked her over, making it fall with a clatter so loud it made Toothless bark. While she was wearing her smile and sounded upbeat like before, it was clear to everyone it was a desperate facade, "Let's get these boxes out to the car! We can finish eating as Hiccup's place-"

"Good idea!" Merida responded, gathering up plates and boxes, shoving them all into the grocery sacks without separating the used plates-some still with leftover food on them-from the food containers.

Jack whisked away from the counter before Hiro could climb on top of it-possibly to strangle him- and grabbed a rather large group of stacked boxes from the floor and sprinting through the front door of the apartment. Hiccup grabbed as many boxes as he could before following, Toothless at his heels.

"Grab what you can!" he heard Jack's voice echo to him from the beginning of the staircase, "We'll meet you guys there!"

Jack cackled hysterically as Hiro's little voice boomed at them from the apartment.

Jack was still catching his breath as they pulled into Hiccup's driveway. As soon as they tossed the boxes haphazardly into Hiccup's car-which luckily fit most of them, Jack only had to hold one in his lap-they sped across town so fast they had to stop a few times so the rest could all catch up. When they had left Jack had gotten a call from Rapunzel from Merida's truck. Putting it on speaker, Hiccup directed them to his house. During the whole phone conversation, Rapunzel was scolding Jack over the sounds of Merida cackling and Jack wheezing, wiping his eyes through his hysterics. Hiccup wanted to ask for clarification, but he couldn't get a word in edgewise in the duration of the car ride, besides being destracted by a familiar smell he couldn't quite place.

"Jack, what's that smell?" he finally asked once he realized he couldn't launch it from the tip of his tongue.

"Hea-" Jack broke off to wheeze again, lifting the box to reveal a wet stain across the knee of his jeans, "-Head and Shoulders."

"Oh, god." Hiccup groaned, but couldn't help but laughing along to Jack's infectious laughter, which only grew louder at Hiccup's reaction.

Unloading took half the time as packing only Jack's room had taken. Hiccup propped open the screen door and directed the boxes to be placed in the living room, since they still hadn't decided which room Jack would stay in.

"Are you sure you don't want to just stay here tonight? The rooms upstairs are still set up as guest rooms," Hiccup pointed out as he hauled in boxes, walking past where Jack and Hiro were chasing each other in the yard-or, Hiro chasing Jack, red-in-the-face and Jack narrowly escaping his clutches over and over.

"Nah, there's still some things to pick up at the apartment, I'm gonna help Merida babysit her brothers tonight and go over to finish hauling in the morning. Makes more sense just to use the truck."

"Though I don' know why you think you're gonna help babysit the boys, you'll just be a fourth monster to 'sit." the redhead commented from her truckbed where she was handing down boxes to be stacked and hauled in. She grabbed a smaller box and shook it. She must have decided whatever was inside it was well-padded because she then hurled it at Jack, hitting him square on the back and knocking him to the ground with a force that surprised Hiccup. The box she had thrown was perhaps big enough for a mug set-certainly not enough to completely bean a fit 5'11 man. Hiro, however, didn't miss a beat as he one-man dogpiled his friend, whooping in victory.

Hiro, once again, was surely 'devastated' to find out he missed hauling boxes and took off after saying goodbye to Hiccup, making him promise to carve some time so they could get to know each other better. The girls, who, despite Hiccup practically sprinting to and from the truck to help, did the majority of the hauling and were exhausted by the time they were finished, just past sunset and into the twilight hour. Hiccup offered to warm something up for them but they refused, saying they still had a whole trashbag full of takeout they could finish at Merida's and retreated to the truck.

Jack hung back for a moment to help sort boxes. Because the apartment had been so small, there wasn't a lot to sort, and they had not yet moved the furniture. Mostly, the boxes that needed to be separated were for the kitchen. Jack dropped them on the counter and Hiccup tried his best to sort the dishes and utenils. He tried his best not to laugh when he realized the coffeemaker was Jack's only appliance besides the microwave-still at the apartment. Not even a toaster.

"Hey, it's almost finished!" Jack's voice came from the hall, and Hiccup exited the kitchen to see Jack holding up his mask, he leather job finished but in serious need of polishing as well as some other tedious things.

"Yep, it's getting close," Hiccup told him as he stood at Jack's shoulder, trying not to puff up with pride as Jack ran his thumbs across the surface, admiring the handiwork, "this, uh… this has been my first major project that I've done since uh-" _my dad_ , he chose not to say, "I mean, I've done other projects here and there, mostly for work, but this has been the first thing I've actually _cared_ about. It felt… nice… to care about something like this again. Really nice."

Jack nodded, but thankfully didn't turn to look at him. If he did, Hiccup might've done something stupid, like asked for a hug, "You used the leather from your dad's steering wheel."

Hiccup nodded. It took him a moment to speak, though, his voice somehow strong, "if you hadn't brought it, I don't think I would've made the helmet at all. But you kind of motivated me by finding it."

The 'thank you' was unspoken, but Jack must've heard it. He set the helmet gingerly back down on the table it had been resting on beside the stairs and turned, putting his hand on Hiccup's shoulder. It, too, was unspoken, but Hiccup heard the comforting squeeze loud and clear: _you're welcome, my friend._

Hiccup felt a tension he had been carrying for months and hadn't known how to get rid of release him for a moment, just as he had in Jack's kitchen over takeout with the girls and Hiro, and when he had been laughing with Astrid, or watching the news with Gobber. If just for a moment, Hiccup was so glad he had let Jack in. He really had needed a friend. The moment was interrupted by Merida obnoxiously honking her horn-telling Jack to hurry up. The boys both returned to themselves and parted with their goodbyes before Jack took off to meet the truck.

Hiccup was saved from having to listen to his thoughts when his phone rang, a smile pushing its way to his cheeks when he say Astrid's picture on the screen. She was laughing, her face half in sunlight and half covered by the shadow from the window sill as she sat in a booth at The 'Pit, her coffee in between her hands as they rested on the table. While the memory made him laugh, the reason it was on his screen made him a little nervous. He suddenly remembered they had a dinner date that night, and he hadn't yet told her Jack was moving in. He supposed it was because it had seemed so far away for so long that it had just snuck up on him so suddenly that he didn't think it was that important to tell her until suddenly boxes were littering the living room floor. Now was as good a time as any, he figured, sliding his thumb across the screen to answer.

"H-hey, Astrid," he began, his ears greeted with the swell of the sounds of the city.

"Hey, it's me," Astrid answered, sounding distracted and slightly out-of-breath. He would almost say she sounded distressed, but he knew Astrid better.

"I'm aware. I just said that, in fact. So, uh, what's up?" he asked, wringing his free hand to busy himself.

He could hear the rush of cars in the background as Astrid continued, her voice raised to be heard above the noise, "I'm so sorry, Hiccup, I have to cancel tonight, something came up. I'll make it up to you, okay?"

Hiccup tried not to sound relieved as he answered, "Yeah, sure thing. We can try again for another time."

He heard her humorless laugh on the other line, "I know you must be mad, especially after what a big deal I made when we talked about it."

He couldn't keep himself from grinning sardonically. He did indeed remember. He figured it would be a hard thing to forget.

" _It feels like you don't want to be seen with me in a more public place than the Firepit," Astrid hissed, crossing her arms as she stood in front of Hiccup's desk at the Forge._

" _Astrid, why on earth wouldn't I want to be seen with you?"_

" _You tell me!"_

 _He sighed heavily, squeezing his hands into fists and releasing them to try and wrangle in his anger, "This doesn't really strike me as an appropriate place to have this discussion, how about you?"_

" _Don't act like you didn't see this coming!" she ranted. Hiccup may care deeply for her, but her way of getting answers from him was so maddening that sometimes he wondered why he put up with it all._

 _Two weeks and four dates after he finally patched things together with Astrid, he thought they were doing great. But eventually she suggested having dinner together, and Hiccup couldn't bring himself to agree to it. The more adamantly he refused, the more frustrated she got, and he knew that patience wasn't something she regularly practiced. He couldn't tell her why he was so opposed to the idea, so he made up excuses, one after another, knowing very well that Astrid had always been very skilled at recognizing lies and picking them apart._

 _Although Pitch hadn't attacked in weeks, he still didn't want to run the risk of getting caught in a situation in which the city needed Night Fury at the same time Astrid needed Hiccup. As he and Astrid grew closer and spent more time together, the fear of such a situation rising up concerned Hiccup more and more. He didn't doubt that there was such a day coming for him. When it did, he just hoped he didn't have to choose between Astrid and the whole city. He pushed the unwelcome thoughts away and shook his head. He would still take precautions in the form of a German Shepherd, but he wouldn't let the currently absent threat of Pitch prevent him from staying close to Astrid._

 _"Okay." Hiccup uttered._

 _"What was that?" he couldn't tell if she was wholly surprised or joyful. Perhaps both._

 _"I said okay," he repeated, standing to turn to her, "I'll send in the reservations for a restaurant tonight. I just have to find one that's pet friendly first."_

"Don't worry about it, Ast. We can just make it up another time."

"You know I've always hated it when you call me that," he could hear the laugh in her voice, "Ever since you shouted it in the halls in middle school and everyone thought you were calling me an _ass_."

"Hey, I got more rap about that than you did!"

He smiled when he heard her laugh again, then felt the blood drain from his face when he heard a deafening _crack_ so loud his ear rung against the receiver. He barely registered Astrid's startled gasp before he was moving to the door, Toothless racing to his side, "Astrid? _Astrid_!" he couldn't tell if she had heard him, he could only hear her suddenly heavy breathing and screams in the background before abandoning his phone on the floor of the hallway. He reached for his unfinished mask before meeting Toothless halfway across the yard. He felt a surge of power when they Merged, a sense of purpose he only seemed to feel when they were one, and took to the sky, hoping Jack had seen or heard news of the broadcast and was close by when Hiccup reached the battle site for backup. He was going to need it.


	9. His Worst Nightmare Part One

PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is told in flashbacks, going back and forth between past and present. Flashbacks are separated by a break bar and italicized.

TRIGGER WARNING: Graphic descriptions of major character death! The beginning and ending of the segment will be marked with: ****************

A harrowing night ends Hiccup and Astrid's "going slow" rule.

* * *

Hiccup gently gripped the still hand across the bed sheets, tracing each line and scar in the soft skin with his fingers. His breath was drawn in deep, hoping to pull in her scent with each. Even though he was exhausted in every way he could be, Hiccup held onto consciousness like he held onto Astrid. His arm tightened around her bare waist, fingers spreading across the muscles along her back as he pulled her closer and buried his face in her hair. She didn't stir at the movement.

Pulling back, he ran his eyes over her sleeping face. Although her skin was soft from sleep, he could see what could have been worry lines etched into her forehead. He felt a deep twinge of guilt-he had been the cause of that stress in a mere few hours. And even after knowing that, he still allowed himself to sleep next to her. He pressed a kiss to her weathered brow and silently rejoiced when he saw the lines unconsciously lift, albeit slightly. Whatever way he could ease her worry after the events of that night was a victory. The only victory he could count.

* * *

 _Hiccup blazed into the town square. Pitch never seemed to work hard to hide his activity; smoke must have billowed up as high as six stories. Of course, Hiccup expected the damage to be intense, he'd have to be completely stupid to believe otherwise. But even after what he'd seen in Pitch's past attacks, it was nothing compared to what Hiccup saw once he reached the site of the smoke. It became clear to him as he gaped at the blazing crater blasted into the side of the building, at least two city blocks deep, that Pitch had been holding back in the past. Maybe even toying with them. It was a marvel that the building was still standing._

 _The destruction before him gave Hiccup the doubt that Pitch even was a_ man _. But then again, he thought, was_ Hiccup _really a man anymore? This was not the time nor place to get philosophical. But if it were, Hiccup wouldn't have to ponder long before he decided that, even with wings wide enough to carry him, the ability to breathe fire (more or less) and absorbing his dog, he was far more of a man than Pitch. He could never dream of doing this. He figured that even before he saw the first body, and not the last he would see throughout Pitch's reign. Unfortunately, not even the last he would see that night._

 _A man lay on the ground before the buildings former entrance, wedged between the curb and the tires of the car parked beside it. Landing beside him, Hiccup placed two taloned fingers against his neck, but when he saw the man's front, he knew he'd find no pulse. The skin of his face was charred from the explosion, rendering it hardly recognizable. Hiccup could see the security patch on the shoulder of his uniform; the badge in front had melted and formed into his blistered skin from the fire's heat. A security guard, if Hiccup had to guess, probably headed to work before his life was cut short. Hiccup backed away, his stomach and mind tumbling like a tidal wave. He was so shaken that for a moment he had completely forgotten about the fire._

* * *

Hiccup nearly jumped straight out of bed when he heard the door move-his sense of hearing still heightened from the Merge and the adrenaline. His body relaxed more than it had all night when he sensed the presence of his best friend. He could hardly distinguish the dog's shape in the dark room. He felt so much more secure with Toothless in the room with them, but it occurred to him that he had no idea why he hadn't kept at least one light on, even if it would have spoiled the mood earlier.

He watched as Toothless observed the two of them laying in bed for a moment, and Hiccup felt his protectiveness of them seep in from his other half's mind; deep as the roots of a tree and as strong as iron. Then the dog crossed the room to his dog bed, his nails ticking gently against the hardwood floor with every step. WIthout the sound, Hiccup would have only an impression of where he was in the room, his coat blended with the shadows so well. After all, shadows had put them through that night, he might have been unnerved by that, but Toothless seems to be the only thing in his life that was steadfast in the dark.

The dog padded his bed in a circle for a moment, then turning around and circling in the other direction. He stopped and stood still for a long moment before crossing the room again, this time to Hiccup's bed and springing onto it, so swift the bed hardly shook. Toothless stretched his body across the foot of the bed, his tail reaching around Hiccup's rear and his head resting atop Astrid's still legs. Hiccup was certain he had seen what Hiccup had-the vision the Nightmare had given him, but he wondered if he had been as affected as he, himself had been. Hiccup had often joked about how Toothless had always seemed stronger than most of the people he knew. He had had no idea how right he had been.

Hiccup guided his lips over the warm skin of Astrid's sleeping face, overlapping and stretching as far as he could move his head without jostling her. She had been through so much in the past few hours alone. But so had he.

* * *

 _Thanks to his impervious skin in his Merged form, Hiccup had completely forgotten about the blazing fire behind him until a blast of white erupted behind him. Whirling around, he observed the last of the flames being swallowed by a wave of frost while his partner in anti-crime landed behind him._

 _"_ Please _tell me you didn't do that!" Jack spat at him, out of breath and wiping sweat from his forehead. Huh. Hiccup wouldn't have thought that Jack could sweat in his frost form._

 _"_ _I didn't," Hiccup said shakily._

 _"_ _Yeah, I was afraid you'd say that,"_

 _"_ What _? But you just said-"_

 _Jack waved him off, "It's been a long night, don't pay attention to any of that. Did you just get here?"_

 _"_ _Yeah," Hiccup was overcome by a new wave of anxiety when he remembered why he had been drawn to the site so quickly in the first place, "I was on the phone with Astrid when it happened, I heard the explosion. She's here, have you seen a woman our age, she's got blonde hair-"_

 _"_ _Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jack said incredulously, holding his hands out to Hiccup to stop him, as if he were a spooked animal, "there are hundreds of people in Burgess, and they_ all _need your help right now, not just your Astrid. I swear we'll both look for her together when we can, but right now we have to focus on stopping Pitch. Okay?"_

 _Hiccup huffed, even though he felt shame take over him. He knew Jack was right, of course, but it didn't stop him from clenching and unclenching his fists over and over to contain his nerves. Of_ course, _a devastating attack would occur the very hour Astrid-who he had never been closer to or cared more for that right now-was in town. The whole scenario made him want to scream. But watching Jack as he unconsciously tapped his wooden staff against the scorched pavement-his bare feet must be peeling_ _if the former sidewalk was still hot-he remembered that this was, in fact, Jack's town. He was undoubtedly worried about the tons of people he knew here, some of whom might have worked in the very building Jack had just frozen part of. Hiccup being frazzled and boar-headed was not helping anyone. Especially not Astrid. Hiccup's huff turned into a sigh_

 _"_ _You're right. I'm sorry. What's the plan?"_

 _Jack shifted nervously, offering him a troubled smirk, although it fell immediately, "Hah, it's sweet that you think I have a plan...Hicc-_ BEHIND _-" Jack's alarmed words were lost to him as he was enveloped in a shadowy vapor so thick he could feel it fill his lungs. He spluttered and flailed, trying to free himself from the mass that engulfed his senses. He had begun to feel lightheaded when the shadow finally lifted. Hiccup whirled around, trying to locate his opponent and get his bearings although his ears were ringing as if he were submerged in deep water, whatever had surrounded him was gone. He was unable to be relieved at being free from that suffocating darkness, however, when he realized Jack was gone too._

 _"Jack?" Hiccup craned his ears to hear something-anything-past the pressure in his ears but to no avail. He felt that the only reason he could hear his own voice was due to the vibrations of his throat. "JACK!"_

 _Hiccup felt rather than heard the impact behind him. He whirled around, jaw slack and ready to fire, and choked on the fuel in his throat._

 _Astrid lay on the pavement ten paces in front of him, unmoving._

* * *

Hiccup shuddered at the memory, hands tightening where they gripped her. He shifted himself down until his head was level with her chest and he rested his ear against her, relishing in the strong heartbeat he was met with.

* * *

 _Hiccup didn't remember moving his wings, but somehow they carried him to Astrid faster than he could blink. He sunk to his knees at her side and nearly retched._

 _Her chest was crushed from the fall. Looking up at the building closest, he couldn't see any open windows, but he didn't want to analyze what had just happened so closely. All he cared about was Astrid. Her legs bent at angles that made him queasy. Her arms were spread as if she were about to make a cement angel-the description was sickeningly ironic, for her fall had been so hard it had made a slight depression in the pavement. He felt a wail rise in his chest, but if it escaped he didn't hear it._

 _What truly broke him was her eyes: wide open and blazing blue. So, so bright-like he was seeing them in the sunlight rather than the night. It was such a shocking contrast against the blooming red from a deep-looking gash in her forehead, matting her golden hair to her head. The cut looked nasty, but had evidently stopped bleeding-it had been there for a time. Alone, it was probably not as bad as it looked. It wasn't what made Hiccup completely lose hope: blood spread like water flooding a bathroom floor across the cold pavement where she lay, pooling from behind her head._

 _He tried to say her name, but all he could hear was a ghost of his own voice through the ringing in his ears. It was all he could do to keep from screaming when he lifted her to his chest, her head lolling lifelessly. He gripped a handful of her hair and rested his forehead against hers. She was cold as ice. He sobbed her name over and over, thinking he was being gripped by beginnings of hysteria when he heard his name being called in return. Could it have been hers? He paused to listen; even if it was only due to his frazzled mind, he wanted so desperately to hear her voice at that moment._

 _He strained his ears. There was definitely a voice. It sounded like someone shouting in the deep end of a pool, but it was calling his name, that much he could tell. Soon, Hiccup was able to discern that it was a male's voice, and as it grew in volume, so too did it grow in familiarity._

 _"_ _Jack?" He choked on his distorted voice. He coughed, trying to clear his raw throat when two hands grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him so hard his teeth chattered painfully. The suffocating darkness began to recede, only slightly at first then all together to reveal Jack's concerned face, yelling his name in full volume. Hiccup blinked in surprise and looked down at his hands. Astrid was gone, his hands, a moment ago sticky with her blood, were coated in a thick black sand that slowly slunk away as if it were alive._

 _For what felt like the thousandth time that night, Hiccup felt his breath abandon his lungs. It was_ alive _. He had been attacked by Pitch's nightmare. His fists clenched in rage. The beast must have smelled his fear and swarmed him, giving him an image of what he was most afraid of that night. Losing Astrid._

 _"_ _What did you see?" Jack asked, searching his eyes, "When the nightmare rushed you your eyes went completely black, I kept calling your name but it was like you weren't even here."_

 _"_ _I saw-" Hiccup bit back his words as if repeating what he saw would make that horror come to pass. He shook his head "-I think I saw my worst nightmare."_

 _"_ _Indeed." A voice purred from the shadows, which had grown so thick and dark the night sky looked gray in comparison. Hiccup could feel Toothless growl furiously in his mind as he and Jack whirled around. Pitch stepped forward, sand curling like smoke behind him. "I've worked so hard on that little trick. That's where I've been all this time if you were missing me. Of course, that's all it is: just a fun parlor trick, wouldn't you say, Jack?"_

 _The sprite bristled beside Hiccup, letting loose a growl that almost rivaled Toothless. Hiccup tried not to make it too obvious he was eyeing the growing shadows, watching for them to flank the pair as their master spoke._

 _"_ _The images themselves are completely harmless-in a physical sense, anyway, who's to say mentally-merely projecting the victim's worst fears. But this trick isn't just to incapacitate you with fear of course. I made my Nightmares, you see, I see everything they create." He grinned at Hiccup, meeting his eyes through his unfinished helmet. "I know exactly what you most fear."_

 _The smooth voice was so threatening, Hiccup felt Toothless' warning bark (sounding closer to a roar) leave his mouth in response without Hiccup so much as breathing. Faster than he could see, part of the looming darkness enveloped its master and slithered away like a giant snake, while the rest broke into tendrils and slipped away in a dozen different directions. Something told Hiccup that they were searching for something. Or someone._

 _Jack took no time in tearing off after him in a blur of blue and white, Hiccup rushing to follow. Despite Hiccup's eyesight being exceptional during a Merge, he could only see Jack's form in front of him as they raced after the black cloud. The route they were following was so sporadic Hiccup was beginning to get dizzy before the buildings opened up into an open shopping center, about eight city blocks wide. It was already cleared of people-well, living people, Hiccup noticed with a shudder. He didn't have time to take notice of how many there might have been, for he slammed painfully into Jack, who had stopped mid-air, frozen with horror at what was before them. Although he felt that_ any _lives lost due to Pitch were far too many, when his eyes met what had stopped Jack in his tracks, he marveled that there weren't more bodies at the scene._

 _A black cloud circled the center of the plaza, rotating like a tornado of black sand. It moved so swiftly, Hiccup could feel the wind it produced grow in strength. He and Jack didn't have to speak or even look at one another before deciding what they would do. Hiccup shot upwards as Jack shot down to the base, Hiccup flying high enough to see into the center of the funnel. After allowing his eyes to adjust to the deep darkness, he was able to make out a form in the center of the tornado: A woman with blonde hair, pulled back in a braid that was beginning to be pulled loose. He didn't have to see her face to know exactly who it was. The dread from the Nightmare seeped back into him._

 _Fortunately, Jack had already begun to freeze the formation of Nightmares from the bottom up, taking out a good portion before Hiccup even had to begin firing. He angled himself at the top and began to fire downward, keeping a careful eye on his trajectory to avoid risking Astrid being caught by debris. He fired over and over again, rapidly, thankfully being in his own head enough to count the shots before he gagged: Six before he ran out of gas. Gagging, he dropped down to the pavement, where a cluster Nightmares were frozen and sticking up from the ground like a terrifying abstract sculpture. Others fell from where Jack was still freezing them in the air and shattered against the pavement. Astrid had covered her head with her arms and lifted her head at the sudden lack of wind. He saw her gape at Jack's Nightmare popsicle before her as he strode closer, then watched her turn to him and gasp, scrambling to get up but dropping back to the pavement in her hurry. He was moving forward to help her up-how he was going to explain this to her if she recognized his voice or something he had no idea yet-when a Nightmare barreled into him from his left, hitting him with such force he was knocked into the ice wall, his ears ringing violently._

 _He coughed as he sprang to his feet, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, although all he really managed to do was dizzy himself further. When his double vision receded, Hiccup stood face to face with Pitch. He blinked in surprise, only just managing not to leap back and shriek, as was his first instinct. Instead, he scowled at the smirk on the man's face, shadowed as if he himself was made from one of his precious Nightmares. He was already ready to reel back when the man began to speak, "Well, Night Fury, now that I've seen your worst nightmare, you've made it easy to-augh!"_

 _Hiccup's clawed fist collided with Pitch's jaw before he could finish his sentence. The plaza fell so silent Hiccup heard the sound of Pitch's tooth hit the pavement, and he couldn't help but feel a little gratification in the noise. The tense silence remained as Pitch reached into his mouth to feel the hole in his dentures his tooth left behind. Jack's amused laugh broke the silence so suddenly, everything happened so fast Hiccup's head whirled trying to keep up._

 _As Jack resumed his attack on the Nightmares above, Pitch began to swing at Hiccup. His first punch was so sudden Hiccup couldn't block fast enough, and the hit sent him back a few steps before he surged forward, gaining ground quickly as he unleashed a series of hooks, each going to different quadrants of Pitch's form, just like Astrid had taught him. He only hoped she was too frazzled to recognize her own fighting style in his movements. Pitch swung with enough power that Hiccup figured he must have once been trained in combat by someone but was out of practice enough to be caught off guard by Hiccup's attacks. As Pitch reared back to land a punch, Hiccup swung his hip back and knocked Pitch back a good three feet with a kick he had just mastered, after days of frustrated instruction from Jack. Within moments, clouds of black smoke dropped from above and began to pool on the pavement all down the street-Hiccup counted six of them, but they were growing in size quickly._

 _Unfortunately, Pitch wasn't as stunned as Hiccup had hoped-he evidently had some room for improvement with that kick-for he reached his hand into one of the dark plumes. Hiccup watched, amazed, as it elongated and solidified into the form of an impossibly large scythe, one he never wanted to see outside of a cornfield. Pitch advanced gracefully, Hiccup readying himself to dodge. Thankfully, he was beginning to feel the gas in his throat grow, but he wouldn't have enough to attack again for several minutes._

 _He tried to keep his eyes on the blonde hair the whole fight, a difficult task, to say the least, but he didn't want to risk losing sight of her in the black for a single moment. But he still felt his heart stop for a moment when his view of her was covered by a wisp of a shadow that leaped from where it was pooling a few feet to her left that morphed into the shape of a horse and surged toward Astrid as she screamed._

 _"ASTRID!" he cried, forgetting himself. But with just that single, panic-induced slip, he knew he had just dug his own grave. And probably Astrid's, too. If Pitch was looking for confirmation in Hiccup's attachment to Astrid, he had found it. And Hiccup felt a deeper dread form in his belly._

 _He was making one stupid panicked mistake after another tonight, he realized as Pitch struck. He allowed himself to be so distracted by Astrid to be completely caught off guard as Pitch swung his scythe, clipping Hiccup brutally across the chest, despite the fact that Hiccup was_ facing _him the whole time. He was whipped around and slammed against the pavement quicker than he could get his breath back, wheezing._

 _His ragged coughs almost muffled Jack's shout, "Fury!"_

Seriously _? Hiccup couldn't help but think at the use of the media-dubbed nickname. Even if it was to protect his identity from-Hiccup realized with a start (at a most inappropriate time, of course) that Pitch already knew his name; Jack had said it by mistake before numerous times, so he was protecting Hiccup's identity from_ Astrid _. "Frost," he ground out, straining to be heard, "get her out of here!"_

 _Jack blanched at him from across the street, "I won't-"_

 _"Just GO!"_

 _He could see Jack's jaw clench from where he scrambled to get himself up from his vulnerable position on the sidewalk. The sprite's staff erupted with one last powerful gust of frost at the hovering wave of nightmares engulfing the shopping center, effectively freezing a good quarter of them and scattering the rest. That looked like two of the many problems were taken care of for the moment as Jack shot across the street and scooped up a very startled Astrid, who immediately threw up a struggle which Jack barely contained before they whisked out of sight. With them on their way to safety, Hiccup focused his attention back on Pitch, who looked concerningly_ un _concerned._

 _"Ah well," he purred, "there will be plenty of other opportunities, I suppose. You really shouldn't have been so hasty, my boy. Panic only brings your fears closer to the surface, and easier for me to see."_

 _Hiccup tried desperately to reign in his aggression. He had made too many mistakes tonight. He would be a fool to believe Pitch wouldn't use his greatest fear against him again. He had left himself, Jack, Astrid, and probably dozens more people vulnerable because of his panic. Hiccup knew the responsibility would weigh heavy on him when he saw the casualty counts on the news. But with the shadows of the Nightmares still slithering around the edges of the buildings and Jack and Astrid beyond his sight, Hiccup knew any action he could attempt while so outnumbered could only end badly. He knew he had to escape._

 _Hiccup kept watch at the corners of his eyes for the movement of the Nightmares as Pitch remained where he was, he realized the shadows were trying to flank him. Once they got well enough behind him, he knew they would strike. Hiccup began to retreat, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on Pitch, hoping he wouldn't be too obvious. There weren't nearly as many as there had been before Jack sent half of them packing, so maybe if he got them into a position in front of him..._

 _He took a chance when he got to the curb at the other end of the center. His foot, even with the metal tooth of his shoe, scraped the pavement as he misstepped on the edge of the curb and fell. His sudden movement encouraged the Nightmares to leap towards him from both sides of the center to attack him... allowing a less spread-out target for Hiccup to strike. Hiccup knew he would eventually run out of firepower. He didn't waste his chance._

 _The Nightmares mere feet in front of him when he leaped from the pavement, blasting the cloud of darkness with his Plasma Blast-another unfortunate media dub. With the first shot, a torrent of Nightmares burst in a halo of purple, with the second, the Nightmares had begun to halt and attempt to pull back, but they were much too late. Hiccup released his next shots in rapid succession. Four, five, six, and Hiccup choked on the lack of gas at the back of his throat. By then a shocking majority of the Nightmares had been vanquished, and the rest were quickly retreating. Pitch seethed as he watched his Nightmares all comically trying to stuff themselves through the small slots of the nearest sewer grate at once. When they had finally all slithered through the grate, Pitch turned back to him, glaring. For several heartbeats, they merely stared at one another. Without a word, Pitch finally turned and followed his Nightmares through the slot in a sinister rendition of a magician's poof of black smoke._

 _Hiccup wasted no time tearing back towards Berk, hoping he knew where Astrid would be headed once Jack released her._

* * *

It was dangerous, spending the night together. Hiccup never forgot what Jack had told him about how Pitch was able to watch them during the dark hours, from the shadows. He recognized later that he had put them both in a position vulnerable to be attacked, but nothing had come of it. He just wanted to be as close to her as he could.

And besides, Pitch must have had a hunch about Astrid being close to him-must have noticed them together after dark sometime-and by going out of his way to protect her over any other civilian, Hiccup had confirmed it. He had put her in danger in the first place.

* * *

 _Hiccup's legs were beginning to ache from his pacing. Since he had gotten home he was completely restless, eating half-frozen hot pockets to satiate his screaming stomach until he felt sick because he refused to sit while he ate. Although Toothless had his kept his face mostly buried in his food bowl-reminding Hiccup that he had forgotten to get more dog food-Hiccup could sense his apprehension._

 _He kept glancing nervously at his phone, sitting lifeless on his countertop. He had completely lost track of Jack after the attack. During his evac, he had flown past the sprite's old apartment building. The building had been damaged slightly during by debris, so Jack could still collect his half-intact security deposit. He'd probably be happy to know that his former apartment looked untouched and his Craigslist-ready furniture was in the same relatively bad condition as before._

 _Looking down at the wreckage of the city, he saw people all over Burgess toting their suitcases to the bus station or packing up their cars. Hiccup didn't blame them. While the previous battles with Pitch were frightening for both Burgess and its sister city, they weren't destructive. Not like the last one was. People were scared and didn't feel safe anymore. In every city touched by war, things like that were bound to happen, no matter where in the world it was, and although Hiccup knew that, he still couldn't get the feeling that he wasn't doing enough in the fight against Pitch to go away._

 _Even with Jack in Burgess and unaccounted for, he wasn't Hiccup's main concern right now. That title belonged to Astrid. He couldn't explain how he knew, exactly, but he had a feeling Astrid would come to him rather than going home. It didn't make a lot of sense, seeing as she could have been killed only hours ago; if that had been Hiccup he would have wanted to surround himself with family-if he had any to spare. Despite that, however, he didn't find himself all that surprised when he heard the roar of her motorcycle's engine growing near. Being his childhood best friend Astrid new the way to his home probably just as well as the way to her own, even after all these years. Hiccup would have found it endearing if he wasn't so distracted by her presence in its entirety._

 _He all but sprinted out the door and to her side as she pulled her helmet off, holding it in one hand and grasping the material of his hoodie with the other. She opened her mouth, but Hiccup tugged her into a crushing hug before she could speak. The helmet flopped to the ground and she raised her arms to return the embrace just as strongly, burying her face into his uncovered neck. Her breaths were deep, uneven and warm against his skin. He had no idea how long they stood locked in their contact until she spoke, legs still straddling her motorcycle._

 _"_ _I guess you know what happened," she stated, sounding absent. He pulled away to cup her face in his hands, thumbs stroking her cheeks._

 _"_ _Astrid-"_

 _"_ _Hiccup," she cutting him off, "listen, I know I was the one who proposed we take this slow, and we both agreed to it, but… Today I realized how little time any one person could have and… Well, I don't want to waste any time I could have with you-  
He cut her off with a deep kiss, just as strong as he had wanted to give her from the moment he pulled her from danger._

 _"_ _I guess we agree, then," she said when they separated, slightly out of breath. He didn't respond, only pulled her into another kiss and they moved clumsily back inside._

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup woke to an empty bed. Although he had fallen asleep with Astrid next to him, the only evidence he hadn't dreamed up her presence was the upturned sheets next to him.

Drifting downstairs, he found her in the kitchen, wearing his hoodie and-he assumed-nothing else. It fell just below the curve of her rear, and he tried not to ogle her long legs, immediately deciding he liked it when she wore his clothes. She hadn't noticed him yet, pensively staring out the window at the sky, bleached pink by the rising sun. On the countertop in front of her stood his glass french press, the strong-smelling coffee beans turning the boiled tap water inside an enticing near black. She absently played with the press's plunger while she studied the sunrise, reflecting a beautiful shade of orange and pink against her hair, pulled back in a half-assed bun. Although she looked troubled, Hiccup couldn't help but smile at her appearance.

Coming silently up behind her, she jumped in surprise when he grasped her idling hand and guided it down until the plunger bucked. He gently shushed her and kissed behind her ear before nuzzling his nose against it, breathing her in. Her sweet smell mixed with that of sweat, and he was reminded of the fact that neither of them had showered after their activities last night. He found he didn't mind, however.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hiccup asked quietly. After the words left his mouth, he realized how vague they sounded, and he wasn't sure if Astrid thought he meant what happened yesterday or what happened last night. Maybe he himself wasn't sure which he meant. Either way, she didn't respond.

Retrieving two mugs from the cupboard, he poured out the contents of the press and handed her a cup, adding sugar to his as she took a startlingly long sip of the dark liquid. Hiccup winced; he could see the steam billowing like smoke from a fire slipping between the rim of the mug and her nose and cheeks from where he stood. Not only had she drank it black, but boiling hot as well. Hiccup didn't need to let his coffee cool, he hadn't needed to since he first melded with Toothless, as if the fire from his hands had coated his throat, too. But Astrid didn't have the same abilities, she had to have burned the crap out of her mouth, although she didn't react at all, instead resumed staring out the window. Hiccup reached for the sugar again-Astrid was amazing and he would protect her with his life, but she did not know how to make a cup of coffee.

"What're you thinking about?" he asked gently, trying to sound casual. She shook her head and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. For a moment or two, she chewed it before finally speaking, he eyes never leaving the slowly morphing sky outside.

"You seemed to know exactly what happened yesterday. You could've watched the news, sure, but you couldn't have known that I was there when it happened," her tone was accusatory, but Hiccup wasn't shaken; along with how to fight and use his powers, lying was something he had learned to do well the past few weeks.

"I _did_ watch the news. And you mentioned to me the other day that you were going downtown yesterday, so I couldn't help but worry that you had been there."

She finally met his eyes, glaring, "I couldn't have told you I was going to be downtown because I didn't even know it myself until yesterday morning! So tell me the truth. How did you know I was there?"

"I-" Hiccup shook his head, "when you called me to cancel our date, I could hear the noise of the cars, then the boom when Pitch struck, then you wouldn't answer your phone… I assumed the worst when I saw the news broadcast."

She studied him for a moment, her glare unmoving before she continued, "Pitch came after me during the attack. I didn't know why he singled me out exactly, but now I'm starting to wonder because the Night Fury showed up in _seconds_. I watched the entire showdown, and I thought I recognized how Night Fury fought while defending me. At the time, I couldn't really put two and two together at the time because I was too panicked. But now that I've had some time to _really_ think about it, I _definitely_ know the style: It's _mine_. I taught it to _you_."

Hiccup was at a loss for words as he tried desperately not to look as panicked as he felt, "A-Astrid-"

"I tried to escape at one point, but I was attacked by a Nightmare. When I screamed, Night Fury _called my name_. He knew who I was. But that's not all: While he was distracted, Pitch got him in the chest with his scythe. I didn't see the cut itself, but I know exactly where it hit." Hiccup's hand moved unconsciously to touch the deep gouge across his clavicle as she continued, "Yeah. Right there. It was hard not to notice last night. I just can't believe it's taken me until now to piece it all together. It all makes sense now: The fresh bruises, the weird eating habits, the wild excuses, even how you ditched me the first time you agreed to hang out with me. I. Am. _Done_ with all the lies, Hiccup." his breath caught in his throat when he saw her eyes begin to glisten.

"Wh-what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if you don't tell me the truth _right now_ then I'm leaving and _never_ coming back." her resolve was strong and unwavering, but Hiccup could see the hurt in her eyes.

The ultimatum was given, and Hiccup really didn't see any other option. Either tell her the whole truth or lose her, and Hiccup would be damned if he lost _another_ of the most important people in the world to him. He opened his mouth to speak-

The harsh ring of his phone cut him off with a jump. He was about to pick the phone up and throw it against the wall, but he froze when he saw Jack's name on the caller ID.

 _Jack_. He had lost track of him completely after the fight with Pitch. His hand reached for the phone, but froze again, looking to Astrid. Her face had completely shut down. No emotion in her expression or eyes. Hiccup felt himself crumble, taking a chance and cupping her cheeks between his hands, kissing her soundly and stroking her cheeks with his thumbs when he pulled away.

"Astrid, I will be _right back_ , then I'll tell you everything, I swear." She didn't react. Her face was still a wall of steel. For a split moment, he thought he saw _something_ in her eyes, perhaps...sadness? But Hiccup couldn't be sure, for as soon as it appeared, it was gone again.

Hiccup grabbed his phone on his way out the door, Toothless hot on his heels. He swiped to answer, leaping down from the porch and fishing his discarded helmet from the bushes, "Jack? What's-"

"Shh," came Jack's slow reply, and though his voice was hushed, he could hear the urgency behind it.

Hiccup froze, "Where are you?" he asked, although he already had an idea. If he was right, he was going to clean the sidewalks with Jack's face.

"Sewers. Pitch's lair. I found it."


	10. His Worst Nightmare Part Two

Jack gets in too deep and relives the worst moment of his life. Hiccup tries to pick up some pieces before he learns that getting in too deep is contagious.

* * *

 _"_ _Pitch's lair. I found it."_

What an asshole.

Seriously. "What the hell is he thinking?" Hiccup hissed to himself as he ducked into the sewer. It hadn't been hard to find Jack's entrance into the sewer-a manhole that the sprite had left _completely_ open in the middle of the sidewalk in the alleyway of his apartment building. That was the worst nightmare of at least a dozen people Hiccup knew, even if they saw it at eight in the morning. The smell had been a bit overwhelming before he had lowered himself down, but now that he was inside, he had to summon all of his willpower not to collapse in a coughing fit.

The sewer thankfully had decent maintenance passages on either side of the sewage… river, for lack of a better word. While the passage was damp and slightly sticky, it thankfully kept Hiccup away from having to walk around in the thick of the muck. Although Hiccup was certainly grateful for that fact, he obviously remained none too happy to go wandering around _anywhere_ near sewage. Jack must have been experiencing some sort of psychotic break, Hiccup decided.

Speaking of Jack, Hiccup realized with an exasperated sigh, he had practically _no way_ of tracking him. He knew Jack had his phone on him, at the least, and he could call if it really came down to it, but he didn't want to risk giving Jack's location away to anyone besides him if the ringer or even vibration was activated. When he talked to Jack on the phone, even the sprite was unsure of where he ended up. Hiccup did his best to replay the conversation in his head and try to make sense of his friend's half-lucid directions.

 _"As soon as I accessed the sewers, I started heading in the direction I best guessed to be the center of town. I was just going to branch out from there. I mapped out all his past attacks as best I could and they seemed to form a circle around the town's square, I guess." Jack broke off in a fit of coughing that Hiccup could hear him doing his best to smother through the line. Hiccup had Merged with Toothless the second he thought he was out of Astrid's range of sight, thankful yet again for the good cover the woods around the property gave him. He held the phone close to his head as he raced across the sky, knowing the growing light of daybreak would certainly not be on his side. Even with the sensitive hearing the Merge granted him, he had to really strain to hear Jack's weak voice over the wind. That was perhaps what made him the most nervous. Jack's voice, as annoying as it was, was always remarkably clear, even in the rare cases in which he lowered his volume. Hiccup had never heard it so faint._

 _"I tried to keep track of where I was headed, I took only right turns for as long as I could, but then I began just turning and turning, and every time I tried to force myself to stop and gather my thoughts I just took a new turn, it was almost like I was being_ led _. I suddenly just_ ended up _at his lair, so fast I didn't even realize it until I was staring him in the face, Hiccup!" Another strangled gasp wrung his ears and Hiccup had to force himself not to call out his friend's name to ensure he was okay, over the wind Hiccup would have to shout, and that was_ way _too risky. "His Nightmares swarmed me immediately. I couldn't see, I could hardly breathe, it felt like they were wrapping around me like a boa constrictor. I don't think Pitch even touched me, it was only his Nightmares... They've gotten stronger, Hiccup. Just their touch made me terrified well before they showed me my worst fears. Then they dragged me away from Pitch. They dragged me_ so far _. I have no idea where they've left me, but I-"_

 _Jack's voice halted, and it was so quiet for a moment Hiccup wondered if he had lost connection. He nearly cried out in relief when Jack's apartment building came into view,_ Almost there, buddy, almost there. Just hang on.

 _"...I don't think I'm alone down here," Hiccup heard Jack's hushed voice once more before hearing the phone's dial tone. There was no mistaking that: this time, the connection really had been cut._

Hiccup began by taking all right turns, just as Jack had done, but he soon noticed by lack of footprints in the muck that the sprite must have-wisely-chosen to fly through the passages. Good for him to think of his health, at the very least-kind of, anyway-but that made it much more difficult for Hiccup to track his movement. Hiccup remembered Jack saying he had been dragged, so perhaps if he could get close enough to Pitch's lair without approaching it directly, he could find the drag marks and follow them. That was his best chance of finding Jack in decent time, he figured. Another interesting thing he remembered Jack mentioning: it seemed like he was being led to Pitch's lair. He didn't have to try after a time, his feet knew where to go. Hiccup would have to take much more care, however, not to end up _in_ Pitch's lair like Jack did. So, keeping a close eye out for signs of Jack, Hiccup simply followed his feet.

And follow his feet he did... for nearly two hours before Hiccup finally found the scraping pattern in the muck, turned up from where Jack had been dragged. As worried as Hiccup was, he hoped Jack was unharmed enough for Hiccup to kick his butt once he found him. Although, judging from how far the drag marks ran, and how they cris-crossed, Hiccup began to doubt Jack would even be able to walk away by himself.

The tracks winded deeper and deeper into the sewers, and although they were relatively deep, they were truly hard to follow. They turned in seemingly random patterns, even circling around passages just to continue on the same path more than once. It seemed to Hiccup that if the Nightmare's point in dragging Jack around-if there was one, was to hurt and disorient him. If Hiccup's phone conversation with Jack and the fact that he, himself was beginning to get dizzy was any indication, Hiccup would say they certainly succeeded. Jack had been so out of it that if Hiccup hadn't been able to get as far as he had, there was very little possibility that Hiccup could see of Jack getting out of the sewers and getting himself help on his own.

Hiccup nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a cough coming from the shadows ahead. He stared into the darkness until his head hurt, his eyes refusing to adjust, but finally, _finally,_ he caught movement a few paces ahead of where he stood: a pale, barefoot shuffling closer to a figure huddled against the wall of the passage, shrouded in deep shadows. Hiccup resisted the urge to call out to him in relief, racing as quietly as he could to Jack's side.

"Jack! Are you-" Jack's eyes stopped his words in his throat. Jack was in his human form, sticky half-dried blood pasted in a thin line down the length of the side of his head. His eyes, usually a deep brown in this state, were a glazed over black. His breathing was shallow and labored, and Hiccup couldn't tell if it was from pain or from fear. When Hiccup had been attacked by a Nightmare and shown his worst fear, Jack had reported that his eyes were black, too. Hiccup had no doubt that his personalized deepest fear was what Jack was enduring. Hiccup gently placed his hands on his friend's shoulders, shaking gently and saying his name until the black began to flicker away and his brown eyes finally returned, unfocused and pained but _alive_.

Jack's voice was so raw, Hiccup winced when he heard it, "Hicc-" he broke off in a cough and Hiccup moved to his side. Jack's head hung low. For a moment, even though Hiccup was crouched right next to him, he didn't hear him crying until he choked on a sob.

He wrapped an arm around the sprite's shaking shoulders as his tears grew, "Shh," Hiccup soothed, trying not to let his voice sound as anxious as he was, "Jack, something might hear you."

"Where is she? Did you see her?" he asked, voice breaking.

"What? Who?" Hiccup asked. He looked around the passage they were in, but as far as he could see was nothing but still shadows. No signs of anyone else besides them. Now he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I heard her voice," Jack whimpered, grabbing Hiccup's sleeve and pulling him down to his level. "I _heard_ her."

Hiccup put his hands on the sprite's shoulders, "Jack. Whose voice? Was there someone down here with you?"

Jack's breath left him in quiet sobs, "My sister."

Hiccup wet his suddenly very dry lips, "Jack, you know these things better than I do, you were with me when I was attacked, you've seen what they can do. You said you haven't seen your sister since you became Jack Frost, just think: was it really her or was it just a Nightmare?"

Jack sniffled noisily. He was silent for a time, but finally he nodded, "It-it was a nightmare. I know it was, but it was just so... I was _back_ there. It was so, _so_ cold, Hiccup, and so dark and I couldn't breathe, I couldn't _scream_ I-" he broke off into another coughing fit so loud Hiccup almost covered his mouth with his clawed hand. The question _where_ sprang to his lips, but the realization hit him like a train before he could ask.

Jack had told him of the night he had...died? Not died? Been given a second chance? Whatever has truly happened to him, he had relived the night he had become Jack Frost. That was his worst nightmare.

"I heard her calling my name, and I knew she would want to try to save me, but I would have given my last breath to tell her _no_ , run and get off the ice, keep herself safe!" he sobbed, and Hiccup's grip grew stronger on his shoulders, but he could never have told him to be quiet now, even if the noise would give them away. "In my memories of that night everything happened so fast: I fell in and then the moon's light was lifting me from the water. Maybe that was a gift from the moon, I don't know. But in the nightmare I felt _everything_ , it was happening almost in slow motion... I've never been more afraid, even that night when I was so alone, and only the moon was there with me."

That part, he hadn't told Hiccup. "It had stayed with me, I could feel it everywhere I went that first night I was Jack Frost. In the nightmare, it was cold, too. It told me my name and then left me. It left me alone, it made me and left me ALONE, HOW could it DO THAT?" The way that Jack's eyes cast down as he raised his voice told Hiccup that he was no longer talking to him, he was shouting at the moon, as if it could hear him from all the way down in the sewers in the middle of the day. Jack had vaguely mentioned how the moon's light was the first thing he saw when he had surfaced from the lake that night, but the way he talked about it _talking_ to him, saving him... he had said his story got impossible, and he hadn't been joking, it seemed. But the way his nightmare had twisted the moon for Jack the way it had twisted Astrid's fallen body in Hiccup's own nightmare must have been just as terrifying. Jack was hurt and scared, and he had felt abandoned by the very thing that had supposedly saved him from a terrible, painful fate. Hiccup wished he had the time to soothe Jack and pull him from the pain and terror he felt, but the tunnels would undoubtedly be filling with more Nightmares soon, brought to attention by Jack's cries.

"C'mon, Jack, stand up. I'm so sorry, but we have to get moving, _now_. We've spent too long down here." He gently grabbed Jack's arm and lifted him to his feet, trying his best to steady him and failing as the sprite pitched to the side and knocked his other shoulder against the wall he had been leaning against. Then, with a speed Hiccup wouldn't have thought possible in his current state, Jack sprung forward to grab handfuls of Hiccup's jacket, his fingernails scratching against the armored skin of his chest.

"We have to catch him off guard," Jack gripped him so tightly his knuckles were already beginning to turn white. "we'll never be able to win against him if he knows we're coming. We have to scare him, that's the only way to get his Nightmares to lose respect in him, he may lose control of them enough they'll abandon him. That's when we have the upper hand."

Hiccup gripped Jack's hands and tried to pry them open and let him go, "Jack, now is not the time. We'll strategize later, but right now we have to get out of here. Hold on to my shoulders as tight as you can."

Hiccup pulled Jack around to essentially give the sprite a piggyback ride, and slowly scaled to the surface. Getting the sewer grate to slide open was probably the hardest part, even harder than carrying Jack's heavy butt up that impossibly tall service ladder. He and Toothless hadn't been Merged for so long in...well, a long time, and his body was starting to wear down, so it seemed. It took all his strength to keep from flinging Jack and himself to the street before him, opting for the much safer and more covert option of peeking his head out and observing the area they had ended up in, praying there weren't many people out at-if the glaring sunlight already hurting his head from so long in the dark was any indication-mid to late afternoon to notice the two heads peeking out of the sewer grate, one a black demonic creature and the other a badly bleeding boy.

The universe must have decided to throw them a bone, Hiccup rejoiced as he turned his head 360 degrees cautiously. The opening was positioned in the center of the street, one end facing a line of small homes that stretched quite a few blocks, and the other an empty field, touched by a few groupings of treed and, thankfully, nothing else. Not a soul in sight.

Hiccup now hastily removed them from the sewer, not really having to put much effort into removing Jack's arms from his shoulders; his grip had become so loose and weak that Hiccup found it a near miracle he had held on for so long. He rolled over onto his back and continued to huff weakly, almost as if it had been _he_ who had dragged them up to the surface. Before the sewer grate was pulled shut, Hiccup and Toothless split apart, the latter whining as he collapsed next to Jack on the road, tongue lapping tiredly against the boy's bleeding forehead.

"I'm so sorry, bud," Hiccup winced, immediately out of breath and sweaty. The outfit he had more or less put together in his haste to mask his identity when he had first flown to assist Jack as the Night Fury had become his default for the time being, and it was _not_ a daytime ensemble. Beneath the mid-May sunshine, his all black clothes, minus the helmet he chose to leave behind that morning-thankfully-were not very breathable. Especially as he scraped his raw fingernails raw trying to shut the cursed grate. He really should have closed it before he and the dog had split, but he really wasn't sure if there was a limit to how long the two should be Merged. He had left his house just after sunrise, probably around seven or so, and now it was at least noon. Seven hours of being Merged after not eating breakfast could not be good for either of them, Hiccup could at least say that, limited as his knowledge of his own Merge abilities may still be to him. "Rest up, we may have to Merge again."

Toothless huffed but didn't give him any pointed looks or even growl to show his distaste, only continued to lick Jack's broken skin. The boy didn't stir, must have become dead to the world while Hiccup was struggling with the grate. Hiccup was able to see the majority of his injuries in the sewer with his excellent sight in the dark as Night Fury but in the light...

His friend looked so deathly pale, even in human form. The red against his hair, even though it looked like Toothless had cleaned most of it, was still very noticeable and _very_ fresh, possibly still bleeding. His breathing had slowed down only marginally, but was still uneven and labored. Hiccup had no medical training beyond CPR classes, but he could still tell Jack needed some real help. He crawled over to where Jack lay and gently shook his shoulder, relieved when the brown eyes opened and focused hazily. Giving Toothless an apologetic look when he whined, Hiccup slung Jack's arm over his shoulder and carefully stood, hauling the sprite to his feet, even as he groaned and coughed.

"We're gonna get moving now, Jack. We're gonna get you some help. Toothless, stay close, bud." Jack's bare feet, now covered in muck from sitting in the sewer, scraped against the concrete between steps as they headed in the direction Hiccup hoped was Berk; he didn't recognize the area they had surfaced in, so it was most likely the far, _far_ end of town. Of course.

What Jack needed was a hospital, but bringing his into one was not a good idea. They were both likely to be questioned by the police if Hiccup brought him into the ER claiming to have just found him in his current state. If Jack were delivered in Night Fury form, he would definitely be questioned by the police, and that wouldn't automatically make the Night Fury viewed as any less of a danger to the public when he left a young man badly injured under unknown circumstances at a hospital with no identification or insurance information. Jack had told him that he had no birth certificate, and he would be genuinely surprised if he had insurance in his name at all. He would likely be labeled as a John Doe until he recovered enough to give them a name… If he was even willing to. He probably wouldn't appreciate the suspicion and pile of debt he would wake to in a hospital. But Hiccup couldn't take care of him himself if he were to go home.

Home. His thoughts immediately flew to Astrid, who he had tried to make promise to stay put until he was finished coming to Jack's rescue. That had been how many hours ago? There was no way she was still waiting for him to return. And he didn't blame her one bit. Even so, could she help Jack if he sought her out? He knew she had been a lifeguard while they were in high school, and he knew she had been studying biology at Penn State but does that automatically mean she has a base knowledge in medical sciences? Probably not. Not that he could bring himself to ask her for help after all he'd put her through, even if most of it had been unintentional.

There was only one other place Hiccup could think to go, even though going there would mean exposing them both. But Hiccup had no choice if he wanted to help Jack.

A snarl from Toothless tore Hiccup from his own head and a cold feeling of dread swept down his back. He glanced back at the German Shepherd mix, facing the way they had come and baring his teeth, the thick fur along his back practically standing straight up. Hiccup pivoted himself around to glance behind them, already afraid of what he would see.

Leaking from the gaps in the sewer cover from which they had come, black Nightmare sand erupted in a thick, smoke-like cloud. They had already put quite a bit of distance between them and their exit point, but as he stood, dumbly staring at the cloud lift from beneath the ground, he soon noticed that wasn't the only access to the sewer on the street. Every fifteen feet or so there was some sort of drainage grate or manhole cover, and out of each, the thick cloud rose. If they didn't take to the air soon, they would be overtaken. What would happen to them if they were Hiccup had no idea, but he absolutely did not care to find out. He picked up his pace as he turned away, leading them off the street and into the field beside them, hobbling to the nearest cluster of trees. He didn't dare look behind them again until the shade of the trees relieved them from the heat of the sun. Collapsing against the grass, beginning to bristle and yellow from the lack of moisture and heat of the sun, Hiccup sputtered to catch his breath.

When he finally looked up to the street again, he wasn't sure what to think: the smoke was still steadily rising and looked to be coming from beyond the street they had been on, but it seemed to go no further than the street itself. It had yet to stretch to the field where they sat. Was that good or bad?

Hiccup didn't have the energy or calm to try to determine that. He reached for Toothless, the black dog giving him a weary look that made Hiccup feel guilty beyond measure, but he still moved loyally to his boy. Tangling his fingers weakly into the dark fur, hot from the sun, Hiccup pressed his damp forehead against the dog's shoulder and felt their atoms combining in a surge of heat.

Merged once more, Hiccup pulled Jack into his arms again, wincing when he noticed the strength that rested in his limbs when he was the Night Fury was only a shadow of what it usually was. This flight would have to be brief, and even though it was broad daylight, he couldn't risk being too terribly high off the ground, it would take far too much energy. They would have to stick close to the fields and far from the roads. Their odds of both not being spotted and making it to their destination with little damage weren't great, but they had to try, for Jack's sake. He took as many deep breaths as he could before taking to the air again.

0~~~~~~~~~~0

Hiccup stared at his clenched hands on top of the table while Toothless wolfed down hamburger-thawed in the microwave minutes before. The black dog had finished nearly all of Grump's dog food before the hamburger was retrieved and warmed. His own stomach pinched, but he was too stubborn to start on the sandwich that had been laid out for him. His nail was gouging a line into the skin of his thumb for so long, Hiccup felt the skin split as he sat there in silence.

"Are you gonna say something or are you gonna just stare at me all night?" Hiccup finally asked when the quiet had become unbearable. Gobber didn't answer. Only resumed his staring. His eyes _had_ to be at least itchy by now.

"It looks like you're a wanted man," Gobber stated simply, nodding to the muted television as he side-stepped along the kitchen table where Hiccup sat to reach the liquor cabinet, pulling out his special decanter of scotch. Hiccup tried to ignore his surprise; His father had gifted him a new bottle of the stuff every year for Christmas, and the two would share a glass. It was such an old tradition Hiccup could remember a year or two that his mother had joined them for the special drink. The last time Gobber had brought it out since then was the day of Stoick's funeral when he had drunken it alone in his black suit. He could see the thick accumulation of dust around the bottle's shoulders.

His mentor was not exaggerating, Hiccup could see when he looked to the television. The local news channel played silently, casting a bleary light in the dark of the apartment, although if the national news were playing it would most likely be relaying the same scene. It showed a news helicopter view of the town of Burgess, covered entirely in thick black cloud, completely still but menacing. It had only begun to move in when Hiccup finally took to the air, but it had clearly moved fast. The information banner ran speedily beneath the live feed, "... _has not yet moved to make any sort of attack, but it is reportedly stretching at about 10 feet per hour. It is not showing any signs of stopping, will likely reach neighboring town of Berk by midnight. Authorities still have no idea of Pitch's plan for attack, even though this had been his largest reach yet. There has been no sighting of Pitch himself, nor Jack Frost or the Night Fury, although this does not ease the minds of locals, for all three are only ever seen at the same time..."_

 _He's feeding off their fear,_ Hiccup thought as he watched the muted scene, _they're allowing him to get stronger and they don't even know it._

This was precisely what Pitch did whenever he sent his Nightmares out to cover the town square, or businesses, or now the entirety of the town of Burgess: media coverage to confirm that his motives, powers and even _what_ he was are all unknown. That was more likely to spread panic than even the widespread attacks Hiccup knew good and well that he was capable of.

The light from the television cast a dim light on Jack where he laid on the couch, unmoving. The tense silence was so thick Hiccup could hear him breathing, but it was still just as labored as it had been in the tunnels. While the thick curtains in Gobber's apartment blocked out the early evening light, no shadows were moving. Even so, Hiccup couldn't help but wonder if his friend was having a nightmare, or was so hurt and exhausted that he was having no dreams at all. If that was the case, Hiccup considered that to be the first amount of fortune Jack had experienced it the short time he had known him. For Hiccup, even good dreams-of the best memories he had-made his chest hurt when he awoke. From what he had learned in the sewers, Jack probably had similar experiences at night.

Hiccup had-literally-dragged Jack through Burgess. The tops of his friend's feet had been scuffed up and bleeding by the time he reached a point where he and Toothless could Merge again. The two, after being together for hours trying to find Jack and the stumbling through town after not eating or drinking, had taken an especially long time flying to Gobber's. It really wasn't that far, but Hiccup felt himself straining to stay in the air for so long.

"I'm not going to pretend I understand how the hell you're capable of...whatever it is you are. I'm not going to pretend it doesn't scare me to death, either. But you asked for my help, and you know I'm going to do all I can to deliver, but I need you to do me the favor of telling what is going on in return."

That made Hiccup bristle. He was too tired to try to empathize with the whirlwind of emotions and thoughts that were undoubtedly going through the graying man's mind. He finally met Gobber's blazing eyes with his own, "You can't seriously believe what the news is trying to posit, right? That Jack and I are in league with Pitch or something? Gobber, you _know_ me! I'm trying to stop Pitch, and help people!"

"If your father were here, what would he say about you risking your life like this?"

"Gobber, that's out of-"

"What? Out of line?" Gobber's shadow seemed to elongate behind him, and for once, Hiccup didn't immediately think of Pitch. The man before him was so much bigger than he, in ways that had nothing to do with his height. Or weight. "You're the one that's out of line. For months you haven't been yourself, and I know you've been grieving, I've been, too. But then the fighting began. I should have stepped in more then than I did, that's on me. I just never thought you would be capable…" his mentor glanced towards the television, muted as it replayed the same story over and over again. The subtitle screen whisked by, but from where Hiccup sat, he could see the warning, "... _The insidious shadows continue to grow, reportedly reaching the town's borders. No attack has been attempted yet, but locals fear the worst with Jack Frost and Night Fury remain at large._ Gobber rubbed his face with a weathered hand. His head hung, and when his hand went back to his drink it shook.

"I… I just want to protect people," his voice was so weak, he was almost surprised. It was the truth… or, at least, it was now. When he had first merged, it had been because Jack attacked him, and he had been so, so angry and afraid, even if the sprite only intended to bully. After his first encounter with Pitch, he had shifted his view and saw Jack as an ally: they had a common enemy who was capable of mass destruction as well as terrorizing people individually, just as he had with Astrid and now Jack. Beneath the need to protect those who could be affected by it, there had been genuine anger. He had been looking for an out when he first began, that much was true, he supposed. But that hadn't taken too long to change. And anger certainly wasn't what he was acting upon anymore.

"I should have made it clearer to you that I was here. Maybe if you felt like you could have come to me more, things would be different. I always thought it went without speaking. I'm sorry for that Hiccup. But… I'm here now. And crazy powers or whatever those are that caused _this-_ " he gestured to the muted news station on the tv behind him, showing the cloud covering the city. Pitch had done this before, of course, that seemed to be one of his things. He had never covered so much area, however. As the camera panned back to show the reach of the thick darkness-clearly reaching gradually towards Berk-the prompt script beneath ran: _locals are reminded to stay off the streets, and if Jack Frost or the Night Fury are spotted, to please call the police and get as far away as possible._ "-aside, I'm afraid for you. Whatever that man has planned for you, he's too strong. It's not worth whatever you're planning to do now. I don't care if he rips the city apart from the ground up, I can't lose you too, lad."

Hiccup found that he couldn't speak, only stare, gaping so widely that if Gobber's ever-present trash flies had been paying attention his mouth would have made for a lovely target. The more Gobber spoke, the more Hiccup began to notice how run down his mentor looked. He was older and was used to hard work, of course, but there was a difference between the effects of age and the effects of loss, heartbreak, worry. The worry wrinkles on this forehead cut so deep they looked almost like scars. Beneath his eyes the skin was so dark and sunken, Hiccup's face burned with shame: yes, those had all been there for a while. They had gotten worse gradually, but Hiccup hadn't _truly_ looked at the man-who had always been nothing less than a second father to him for as long as he could remember-in a long, _long_ time. Far too long. Gobber sighed.

"You say you only want to protect people, and that's very noble of you. But I know you, Hiccup. That's not the only reason you're doin' this. You lost your father. Helping and protecting people was all he ever did, and you want to feel close to him again, I understand that, even if you don't just yet." Hiccup blinked his surprise and tried to speak, but his throat closed tight. He could only listen as Gobber spoke, hardly being able to meet his eyes.

"More than that though is that you want to stop what happened to you from happening to anyone else. You've always had the heart of a hero, Hiccup. Your father saw it, I see it... your mother saw it, too, no doubt. You feel like if you can save others from feeling that pain it may stop yours. It may lessen it, true, but that pain won't go away so easily." Hiccup's jaw clenched and his eyes stung as Gobber put his hand on his shoulder, "You need to lean on those who love you, Hiccup. That is what will help heal you the most. Not fighting in the streets and putting your life on the line. Talk to me, Hiccup. Stay here. Call Astrid. Don't throw your life away like this."

"I-" Hiccup's voice broke so weakly that his face burned with shame. He took a few breaths to steel himself before he was able to try again, "Okay. I'm gonna call Astrid."

He could see the tension ripple away from his mentor's shoulders. The corners of his eyes creased as he gave Hiccup a watery smile. He squeezed his shoulder so tightly Hiccup had to try hard not to wince. Then Gobber stood, finishing off the scotch in his glass and turning to his bedroom, "I'll give you some privacy then."

The decanter sat on the table, completely empty. Hiccup hadn't even seen Gobber pour it all, despite the fact that it had been half full when he first pulled the bottle out. Hiccup's chest ached and his eyes stung upon seeing it sitting there. He had been the reason Gobber drained his favorite scotch. Perhaps the weight of the trouble the boy was in had weighed on him so heavily he felt the need to feel the loss of gravity that accompanied drowning. Or perhaps he felt like he needed to draw strength his lost best friend. Either way, Hiccup had caused it. He could practically feel the weight of guilt bend his shoulders towards the floor.

Sighing through his nose for what seemed to be the hundredth time that week, he pulled out his phone and dialed Astrid's number. As he counted the rings, he didn't know what he was hoping for: Astrid's voicemail or her actual voice. Of course, it was the former. Why wouldn't it be? The tone of the machine chimed and Hiccup's words lodged in his throat.

"Hey. It's me, Astrid. I'm uh, pretty sure you're not at my house anymore. And who can blame you, honestly? What-" he huffed out a humorless laugh, "what could I possibly say to you now that could make up for all that I've put you through? I've done nothing but push you away since the moment you came back into my life when you only wanted to help me. I pushed you away until I couldn't anymore, and then when I let you close I lied and to you and kept secret after secret from you… I loved you, and in spite of that, I let you feel afraid because I was too afraid to tell you the truth. If I could go back and stop all of this from happening I would. I waited far too long to tell you the truth," Hiccup sighed. Then took a deep breath. "But here it is: you're right. About everything. I'm the Night Fury… although I didn't come up with that name, for the record. You deserve so much more than what I gave you, and I'm so sorry for that. I should have tried to be who you and Gobber and everyone close to me needed me to be, rather than what I thought I should be. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to realize that. I'm just-" he sighed, "I'm sorry. I… I'm sorry."

He pulled the phone away and ended the call before he kept on repeating himself. Standing, he moved across from the kitchen through the living room, turning off the tv and covering Jack with the spare blanket draped across the edge of the house. Once the sprite was snuggling weakly into the warmth, he moved to Gobber's bedroom.

Hiccup cracked to the door open, although he could already hear the snores before his hand even touched the knob. Hiccup's call to Astrid could only have taken ten minutes at the most, and he had only ever known Gobber to go to bed that quickly if he were hammered. Perhaps the decanter on the table was the reason, but Hiccup couldn't help but wonder if this had been the first time in a long time he had been able to speak soundly, thinking Hiccup was alright and not planning on doing anything stupid. His mentor had trusted him, and the possibility that Gobber may wake up the next morning to see the news broadcast that the NIght Fury had finally been brought down, with or without Pitch, broke a piece of him into a dozen pieces.

It was stupid of him, to say the least. And selfish. He didn't want to hurt Gobber any more than he already had, or Astrid, or Jack. But as long as Pitch was still out there and getting stronger with every fear and nightmare realized, wasting time was a luxury no one could afford.

Grump whined as Hiccup and Toothless left the apartment with only a single scratch behind his ears.

* * *

A/N: There will be an estimated 3 more chapters after this, the next one I'm partially finished with and I'm working on the outlines to the others now. Thank you so much for reading, hang in there!


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